A Different Boy Who Lived
by AngelMorph
Summary: What if Voldemort chose to mark Neville as his equal instead of Harry? That's the question that this story sets out to answer. Deals mostly with his childhood to date. On hiatus until I finish with HP
1. Chapter 1

"Alice, Frank, come in. Lily and James just got here." Dumbledore opened the door to admit the new parents into his office. "Please, sit down." He motioned to where the Potters were already sitting in front of his desk.

Then, he closed the door behind them and turned to face the two couples. "You are probably wondering why I've called you here. Firstly, congratulations on the births of Neville," he nodded at the Longbottoms then turned to the Potters and continued, "and Harry. In fact, it is in part because of the birth of your sons that I have asked you to come here today. I regret the need to spoil your happiness by being the bearer of bad news."

The atmosphere in the room had suddenly become very serious. "Several months ago," Dumbledore began, "I was audience to a prophesy… It was prophesied that… Well perhaps it is best that you hear for yourselves."

Dumbledore walked over to one of the shelves along the walls of the room and picked up his pensieve. He placed it on his desk in front of his guests then lifted his wand up to his head and began poking around. Finally, he extracted the memory he was looking for and placed it carefully into the pensive. He swirled the liquid gently with the tip of his wand. The shadowy figure of Sibyll Trelaweny rose from the pensive:

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches . . . born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies . . . and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not . . . and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives . . . the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies . . ."_

The shadowy figure slowly disappeared as the raspy voice faded away. The mood, in the room, went from serious to sombre. One look at the couples before him was enough to tell Dumbledore that they had understood the implications of the prophesy. Each registered their apprehension in their own way, but it was evident that each was thinking the same thing: "My son was born at the end of July, soon after I defied the Dark Lord a third time."

Finally, Dumbledore broke the silence, "Of all the magical children born at the end of last month, yours were the only two boys 'born to those who have thrice defied him'. I cannot say with any degree of certainty which child the prophesy refers to, which is why I am telling this to all four of you. I understand if you'd rather not go into hiding unless absolutely necessary, but I felt I should warn you that Voldemort is likely to come after your families. A suspected Death Eater may have overheard part of the prophesy…"

_**One year later**_

Lily Potter could tell something was wrong the minute her husband walked in the front door after a long day's work at the Ministry. His usual sheepish grin had been replaced by a tight worried expression.

She was about to ask what was wrong when he volunteered the information, "Dumbledore says that we should get ourselves a secret-keeper. His spy amongst Voldemort's ranks tells him that the Dark Lord is planning to attack us."

"Why now? It's been a year" She had been hoping that the prophesy had been forgotten. Evidently, those hopes had been in vain.

James didn't answer her question. He didn't know the answer. Besides there was no denying that he too had been hoping. Instead he said, "I'm going to ask Sirius."

Later that evening, Frank Longbottom returned home to a very distraught wife. Visibly shaken, having herself just returned from a visit at the Potter's, she told him, "Dumbledore says that Voldemort is planning an attack on the Potters. They're going into hiding. It's only a matter of time before he comes after us too."

Frank let out a sigh. There was no denying the danger they were in any longer. "Much as I'd hate to go into hiding, we should probably get ourselves a secret-keeper too."

"Who would we ask? I wouldn't want to impose a burden like that on anyone I know," replied Alice.

He pondered the question for a moment. The responsibility of being a secret-keeper was not something you asked of just anyone. Finally, he replied, "Perhaps my mother will be willing…"

"There's no doubt she'll be willing. I just don't think it's right to ask her."

"What other choice do we have?" He was right, of course. In the end, there was no real choice.

_**One week later**_

A hooded Death Eater approached Voldemort. "My Lord, somehow your plans to attack the Potters have been discovered. They've already gotten themselves a secret-keeper."

Voldemort's face became twisted in fury as he demanded, "Who?".

His servant's voice trembled as he replied, "I don't know, My Lord"

"And the Longbottoms?"

"They'll be performing the charm tomorrow, My Lord."

"Then I will attack tonight"

"But I thought you were going to attack the Potters first," the Death Eater foolishly objected.

"You dare question me." The Dark Lord fired a Cruciatus spell at the Death Eater, in fury. "I will deal with them later. Tonight I will attack the Longbottoms. Is that understood?"

"Yes, My Lord." The Death Eater replied weakly still shaking from the after-effects of the curse."

"Good, Do not question me again."

"Master, master," Wormtail was out of breath, but his excitement at the news he had to relay was evident nonetheless.

But Voldemort wasn't in the mood to listen to the man that he considered to be his most pathetic servant. He brushed him aside as he waked past. "Later."

In his excitement, Wormtail overcame his fear of his master's wrath, a foolish mistake, He called after him, "But master, the Pot–"

Voldemort stopped in his tracks. He turned back towards Wormtail and said, "I said later…" hitting him with a Cruciatus curse before turning and continuing his brisk pace.

As Voldemort walked away, Wormtail recovering from the intense pain mumbled, "I just wanted to tell him that the Potters made me secret-keeper"

_That night Alice and Frank Longbottom died trying to protect their son from danger. Mysteriously, when the Dark Lord turned his wand to the boy, the killing curse he cast left the child unharmed. Instead it rebounded on the caster. The boy was left with only a small scar on his forehead, a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning. This is the story of Neville Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived … _

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A/N: Well here you have it. The first betaed chapter (I'd like to take the time to thank my beta reader aggiebella on Phoenix Song for her help)


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure that it's a good idea to lift the charm? There are probably still Death Eaters out there that want us dead." James and Peter had been arguing for almost an hour, ever since James had come through the fire at Peter's request, to discuss the issue, "What's the harm in leaving it up for a while longer?"

Peter didn't respond right away. _Because some of the Death Eaters still at large heard me tell my Lord that I was the secret-keeper. If they ask me where you are and I tell them, then you'll know it was me who betrayed you. I'll be caught._ Of course he couldn't say that. He was spared the need to come up with an acceptable answer by a sudden knock at the door.

"Open up, it's the Ministry," came a baritone voice from outside the door.

"Wonder what they want," James made a move to get up and answer the door to Peter's apartment since Peter seemed to have frozen in place. He opened it to reveal two Aurors in uniform, wand poised. Ignoring the shocked look on James' face, one of them walked over to Peter, keeping his trained on him. The other remained at the door, wand at the ready.

James was surprised to note that Peter was shaking visibly. What on earth was going on?

"Peter Pettigrew, you are under arrest on charges of participating in the activities of Death Eaters and passing on confidential information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

The second auror turned to James who looked as if he were about to protest, "His name came up in the interrogation of Travers. He was in the presence of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the night the Longbottoms were attacked. He had information for him, information about you…"

The final word hit James like a sledgehammer. They knew someone was leaking information to Voldemort. Could it have been Peter? It didn't seem possible. "How do you know Travers wasn't lying? You're taking the word of a confessed Death Eater."

"He was under the influence of Veritaserum. He wasn't lying," the auror responded calmly to James' enraged question. He had found the calm voice helped in the many times he had already dealt with that same question from family and friends of alleged Death Eaters.

Words could not describe the feeling of absolute betrayal that James felt in that moment. Peter was his friend, a fellow Marauder. How could he be a Death Eater? I wasn't possible. There had to be some kind of explanation. Imperius perhaps? But even as the idea crossed his mind, he knew it was impossible. Voldemort would have had no reason to consider controlling Peter. Everyone thought that Sirius was going to be their secret-keeper.

There was no other explanation. Peter had betrayed him. Swallowing him anger, he turned to the traitor and said, his voice deceptively calm, "I suppose you were right after all, _Worm_tail. It is best we lift the charm."

**One Week Later**

"Hello? Lily? James? Is anyone there?"

Lily looked up from the blanket she had been knitting to see that the head of Mrs. Longbottom had appeared in her fireplace, "Mrs. Longbottom? How are you holding up? What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if I could come over later today. There's something I've been meaning to ask you and James. I don't feel comfortable saying it over the fire."

"Of course you can come over. You're always welcome, you and that adorable grandson of yours."

The entire family was sitting in the parlour when Mrs. Longbottom stumbled out of their fireplace just after seven holding her sleeping grandson protectively in her arms. Sensing the presence of a new grown-up in the room, one-year-old Harry looked up from the toys he was playing with on the floor at the black-clad woman in the fireplace.

"Mrs. Longbottom, it's wonderful to see you," Lily greeted the older woman, "Oh, and you've brought Neville with you. He's grown so much since I last saw him." Neville had begun to squirm in her arms, no longer asleep. Tickling his belly she added, "Haven't you Neville, you little dumpling."

"Do come sit down," added James, putting down his newspaper and standing up to greet her. "You can set Neville down with Harry. I'm sure he'd love to have a playmate."

"Yes, yes of course." She set him down next to the dark-haired child who had already lost interest in the grown-ups and returned to his toys. "Now play nice and do try not to break Harry's toys."

Assuring herself that the boys were getting along nicely, she stood up once more. "Would you like some tea, Mrs. Longbottom? I have some water boiling in the kitchen," Lily inquired politely.

"I'd love some, thank you, dear, and do call me Augusta" she responded as she sat herself down near the fireplace.

James followed suit picking his newspaper off his seat where he had left it, "How have you been?" he asked, trying to start up a conversation with her.

"Better, I've been coping…" her voice trailed off and an awkward silence followed as they both sat watching the boys, who continued to play peacefully with Harry's toys.

"They certainly seem to be getting along well," commented Lily as she returned with a tray laden with tea and biscuits. "You really must bring him over more often."

"Actually, the thing I wanted to ask you about…" Mrs. Longbottom's voice trailed off. Uncertain of how to begin, she tried again, "Well you see… There are still Death Eaters…and, well, I'm worried for Neville's sake. He's still a target, so I was considering following through with the Fidelius Charm… and, well, I feel safest casting the charm myself, especially after…" Her words hung dead in the air. The Potter's choice of secret-keeper had almost cost them their lives. "And so…" she continued, "I need someone to care for the boy. I know you were close to his parents and I was wondering…I understand if you can't, especially with a son of your own to raise but I'd really appreciate…"

Lily cut her off before she could finish her request, "Of course we'll take care of Neville, if you're sure that's what you want. It's the least we can do. Alice and Frank would have done the same for us if our positions were reversed."

"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me, you keeping him safe. He's all I have left. If something should happen to him…"

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**A/N:** Many thanks go out to my wonderful beta Aggiebell the thorough corrections and insightful comments that she delivers on such a timely basis. I would also like to thank all my reviewers once more for their kind comments and encouragement. 


	3. Chapter 3

When a tired James Potter arrived home from work, his senses were assaulted by the smell of spices which wafted in from the kitchen where Lily was cooking dinner. He walked up behind her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Mmmm…Smells good…hope there's enough to feed an extra mouth."

"What?" she spun around to face him.

"Sirius invited himself over for dinner," he clarified.

"You could have warned me earlier..." her voice broke off at the sight of his sheepish grin. "Go on, and play with the boys while I finish this off, you big goof."

So James wandered over to the living room where he found the boys playing cheerfully together. They looked up at him when he entered the room, his son's green eyes lighting up as he intoned, "Dadda!" and spread his arms above his head. James, bent down to pick his son up, then straightening up lifted the giggling child above his head.

"Me too, me too," a second voice called from the ground. Setting his son down, James lifted Neville up and repeated his antics.

Unfortunately, as the fates would have it, Sirius Black chose that moment to walk through the door, catching James making faces at Neville as he bounced him around in the air. That in itself would not have been a bad thing. The problem lay in the fact that Sirius couldn't see Neville.

"Uh James, what are you doing? Harry's right there beside you."

"Course he is," James responded distractedly, failing to realise the reason for Sirius' confusion

"Then why are you making googly faces at the air above you?"

"I'm not making googly faces at the air; I'm playing with Nev..." James' voice trailed off as he suddenly realized the problem. He lowered Neville down to the ground, the child still giggling with glee then looked up at Sirius, "Of course, you can't see him. Can you?" Met with a blank expression he continued, "I suppose I should explain... Mrs. Longbottom came to us a few weeks back, asked us to look after Neville for her. Apparently she was worried about his safety so she asked us to care for him so she could cast the Fidelius Charm, to keep him safe..."

James wasn't expecting the burst of laughter he got in response to his explanation, though considering his history it shouldn't have come as a shock. "You crack me up Prongs. This is one of your best jokes ever. You actually had me going for a while. You actually expect me to believe that you're harbouring the boy-who-lived? That he's here at Godric Hollow under the Fidelius Charm?"

"I wasn't joking Padfoot." The laughter continued, "I'm serious."

At that Sirius burst into a renewed fit of laughter, "No I'm Sirius, you're James."

Her curiosity piqued by the laughter in the living room, Lily popped her head into the room, "What is all the noise about?"

"Sirius won't believe me about Neville," supplied James, the words sounding rather childish as they left his lips.

"Oh, Dear." She stepped fully into the room, "Sirius, I assure you that this is not a prank." Sirius continued to look dubious despite Lily's reassurances so James did the only thing he could think of to remedy the situation. He walked over to the fireplace.

Grabbing a handful of Floo Powder from the mantle, James called out the name of the Longbottom ancestral home, threw the powder into the fire and trust his head in. Almost instantly his head began to spin from its travel through the Floo network.

When it had finally stopped spinning, he found himself looking out on Mrs. Longbottom's living room. "Good evening, Augusta."

Mrs. Longbottom looked up from her knitting, "Why good evening James. To what do I owe the pleasure? I do hope Neville isn't misbehaving."

"Not at all. Actually I'm calling because my friend Sirius is here, and well ... things are a little awkward with him not being able to see Neville...and well… I was wondering if you could possibly pop over and fill him in..."

The unreadable business face replaced Augusta's friendly smile almost instantaneously, "How do you know it's safe to tell him?"

"I trust him" James replied simply.

That should have been enough, all things considered but Augusta wasn't satisfied. Without thinking, she countered, "You trusted Peter Pettigrew."

James' reaction was instantaneous. His face turned white in shock, then red with fury. "If you trust my judgement so little, why did you entrust your grandson's life in my hands?" That said, James pulled his head out of the fire abruptly.

The look on his face unmistakable to his wife, "What happened?" she asked quietly, almost dreading the answer she would get.

James looked her straight in the eyes and answered in a voice cold and devoid of emotion, "She won't tell him. She doesn't trust my judgement…because of Peter." On the last word his voice broke down and he let out an uncontrolled sob.

He hadn't cried when he'd learned the truth. He hadn't cried when they'd taken him away. He hadn't even cried when he'd heard the verdict pronounced and the sentence of life in Azkaban announced. But now the tears had finally caught up with him. It had finally sunk in that Peter had betrayed him, Peter who he had trusted with his life, Peter who had been a dear friend. That first sob had broken the dam and now the tears flowed unchecked as he sobbed silently onto his wife's shoulder.

James was alone in the parlour when Augusta Longbottom's face popped into the fire at Godric Hollow, a few days later, "Lily? James? Is anyone there?" He looked up from his reading to shoot a glare in her direction but said nothing.

Seeing that she did in fact have an audience, Augusta continued, "Look I know you're angry at me. I just wanted to apologize for what I said the other night, about Peter. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. I do trust your judgment, really. I was just being paranoid. It's just…well… Neville is all I have left…and, I guess I just feel a little overprotective. I understand if you don't want to look after him anymore after the way I acted towards you. I just hope you can forgive me because I really do believe he's safest with you. Please forgive me…"

James was seriously tempted to let her keep begging until her voice was hoarse. He also considered getting up and leaving the room but in the end, even the vindictive part of him conceded that she sounded sincere and that he couldn't stay mad at her forever. His expression softened, "I forgive you…"

Augusta let out a sigh of relief and gave him a tentative smile then continued, "I already visited your friend Sirius to tell him about Neville. Went to see that other man you hang out with too, Remus Lupin. I think I might have given him a little bit of a shock, popping over unexpectedly like that but I figured you'd want me to tell him too, eventually. Didn't want to risk my not being home at the time it comes up…"

James smiled back, "Thanks Augusta, I know it must have been hard for you but I assure you they can be trusted."

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**A/N:** Many thanks go out to my wonderful beta Aggiebell the thorough corrections and insightful comments that she delivers on such a timely basis. I would also like to thank all my reviewers once more for their kind comments and encouragement. 


	4. Chapter 4

The moving van pulled up in front of number 7 Cherry Road in Godric's Hollow, on August 19, 1984, while four-year-old Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom played out on the front lawn of number 5. Lily watched them from the porch, barely paying attention to the movement of her enchanted knitting needles. Still, the sight of the van pulling up was enough to distract her from her child minding.

The house's previous owner, an elderly Muggleborn witch, had passed away a month earlier and the place was inherited by the woman's Muggle grandniece. Lily couldn't help thinking it was going to be difficult having Muggles next door. Well, perhaps not difficult, since the Muggle-Repelling Charms would keep them from getting too close or paying too much attention to the strange happenings of Godric's Hollow, but it would definitely be different. Although all their neighbours were Muggles, given the Muggleborn in number 7 and the elderly couple in number 3 that kept to themselves and rarely left the house, they'd grown accustomed to not having to hide from their next-door neighbours –the only people close enough to catch a glimpse of the weird happenings at number 5. How would they manage to live in such close quarters with Muggles without being deemed eccentric or strange? She could only hope the new neighbours would be tolerant of the Potters' eccentricities.

Her thoughts drifted back to her parents and her own childhood, the fond memories and the foul. Some of her girlhood friends, those who she still corresponded with, knew about her being a witch and accepted it. In other cases she'd had to make judicious use of memory charms and sever ties. It had hurt, of course, but it was her own sister that had caused her the most pain. Petunia, her own flesh and blood, who'd declared her a freak at their parent's funeral and to whom she hadn't spoken since. In a way she understood Petunia's bitterness over their death at the hands of Death Eaters but that didn't change the pain…

Lily was jerked from her thoughts by the sound of a young voice a few meters a way. "Hi, I'm Colin." A small boy, who could not have been much older than three was talking to Harry. Since he had clearly gotten past the anti-Muggle wards, common sense told her he had to be a wizard. But who was he? There weren't any other wizarding families with young children for several kilometres that she knew of. Her gaze drifted back to the house next door. Could he…? "We're going to be neighbours."

"Really? I've never met another wizard my age before..." At the use of the word 'wizard' a look of confusion crossed the boy's face, causing Lily to reconsider her assessment that he was magical and Harry's voice to trail off. But there was a big difference between Lily's thoughts and those of her four-year-old son. While Lily considered the fact that his parents being Muggles as an excuse for his ignorance and his passage through to barrier as proof he was magical, Harry immediately corrected himself, "You're not a wizard… are you…? I've never met a Muggle before."

"Muggle?"

Harry's amended statement only seemed to make the boy more confused so he chose to fill the moment of confused silence with an introduction, "I'm Harry and this is my friend, Neville. He doesn't talk very much." He gestured to Neville whose face had adopted a look an apprehensive shyness.

Colin looked at the spot where Harry was pointing. "But there's no one there. Is he an imaginary friend? I have an imaginary friend too. His name is Peter."

Neville looked like he was about to start crying, "But I'm right here! Why can't you see me? Why can't he see me? Why… doesn't… anyone… ever… see me?" He was blubbering uncontrollably by the time he forced the last question out. He threw himself at the younger boy, pounding at his chest with his fists but his actions garnered no more reaction from him than the sobbing, which only served to increase it.

Harry was trying to comfort him but failing miserably, "It's okay, don't cry. We'll ask Mum. She'll know what to do. Please don't cry?"

Colin stared at him perplexed, "What's wrong? Who you talking to?" It was probably time to intervene before things got too out of hand. She banished her knitting.

"Harry, Neville, it's time to come in." Then turning to Colin she added, "I think your mum is calling you, but do come by again. We'd love to have you." Still looking confused but not frightened, Colin ran off to where his mum was in fact calling quite frantically, unable to notice him through the anti-Muggle charms protecting number 5.

Neville ran up to Lily and hugged her leg. Looking up at her though tear-streaked eyes he said, "Lily?" his voice practically a whisper

"Yes dear, here come sit on my lap," she beckoned him and he climbed up. Harry came and sat down at her feet. He would have normally got up onto her other knee but despite his young age he seemed to know that Neville needed his mum's comfort more than he did at the moment.

They sat like that for a while until Neville's blubbering had slowed enough for him to speak properly, "Lily, why can't he see me? He can see Harry."

It was a question she had been expecting for quite some time. It was impossible for him not to have noticed the fact that, except for a select few, dinner guests never noticed or acknowledged him but that didn't make the question any easier to answer. "Your grandmother loves you very much," she began pulling him closer, "and she worries about you a great deal… So she cast a spell to protect you. The spell makes it so people don't know you're here unless she tells them you are. They can't see or hear you. Do you understand?"

Neville appeared to be deep in thought for a moment. At least as deep in thought as his four-year-old brain could go. Finally he asked, "But then how can I make new friends if they can't see me?" He looked as if he were about to start crying again but then suddenly his face brightened. "Maybe grandma will introduce us, then he'll be able to see me, right?"

"I suppose there's no harm in trying..." He looked so happy. She didn't want to bring his hopes down, "We'll ask her when she comes over tonight."

Unfortunately, Augusta Longbottom didn't agree. When the subject was broached that evening, the suggestion alone seemed to infuriate her, "Absolutely not! We don't even know these people."

"But Augusta, he's just a boy. Besides, his parents are Muggles. They aren't working for You-Know-Who," Lily objected.

"I dropped by to welcome them to the neighbourhood. They're really nice folks; Even though they are just Muggles," James piped in.

"James!"

"Sorry, no offence to Muggles."

"It doesn't matter. We don't know these people. How can we trust them?"

"Please, Augusta, he doesn't know a single child his age except Harry. He needs to make friends. What happens when the boy comes over to play with Harry? Is he supposed to sit in a corner by himself and wait till he leaves?"

"You're going to invite the child over?"

"Of course, Neville isn't the only one who needs to make new friends. Harry does too. I'm not about to deny him that opportunity."

"Fine, I'll talk to the Muggles and their son. But just this once…"

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**A/N.** I know that in canon Harry doesn't get along too well with Colin but the different circumstances of this meeting lend to a better relationship. Sorry if every chapter seems to consist of a confrontation between the Potters and Mrs. Longbottom. She's very protective of Neville. I promise no confrontation in the next chapter though there will be more to come.

I would like to take this moment to thank my wonderful beta aggiebell her somehow found the time to correct this despite her hectic schedule. I'd also like to thank The Sorting Hat who pre-betaed this chapter for me, and Enero who pointed out an inconsistency in this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

"Do realize how much trouble these new Muggle neighbours are causing?"

"James..."

"No, don't get me wrong, Lil. I think it's great that the boys have a new friend to play with and all, but all the changes we have to make to the wards are giving me a major headache." Lily looked as if she were about to cut him off again but he ignored her warning glare and continued, "I mean, we've got to modify the wards so that they can get in and tone down the charms enough that they can look at the place long enough to notice that their son hasn't disappeared without catching on to all the weird things going on. Honestly, if we could just tell them everything it would make things so much simpler."

"You know we can't do that, not until the boy gets his letter..."

"I know the law, Lil. I personally think it's a stupid one, but... Oh, it's just I'm tired and frustrated and..."

"I know, Hon." She put her arm around him in a comforting gesture, "Anything I can do to help?"

"Not really, I've got it under control. Why don't you go over and welcome our neighbours to the neighbourhood. Invite them over after dinner so Augusta can introduce them to her grandson. Make sure to tell them that the baby is welcome too. Don't want to have to repeat this experience in a few years... I'll watch the boys while you're gone."

That's how it came to be that at about seven o'clock that evening, just as the Potters and Longbottoms were finishing their evening meal, the doorbell of number 7 rang.

Lily rose to answer the door while her husband hurriedly banished the dirty dishes until such a time as they could later be washed. As she greeted their guests in the hall, inviting them in, he made a final last minute check of the room to see that no magical objects were blatantly obvious. That taken care of, he turned to Neville, "Go wait in the next room Neville. Your grandmother is going to tell the neighbours your secret so they can see you but we don't want you to give them a shock by appearing out of thin air."

The small child nodded slowly then scampered out of the room just as Lily led the guests in, "Well, I think some introductions are in order." She turned to her guests, "Why don't you folks start?"

The lady that had just walked in spoke up. "Well, I'm Carla, Carla Creevey. This is my husband Melg," she gestured to the man standing next to her, "my son Colin." The small boy at her feet squirmed uncomfortably as attention turned to him. "And the newest addition to the family, Dennis. I'm afraid he's asleep at the moment, but..."

"There's no need to wake him," Lily cut her off. "I know quite well how they can be at that age." After a short pause, she continued with the introductions, "I believe you've already met my husband, James. This is my son Harry. I believe he and Colin have already met. Haven't you boys?" she inquired. When neither volunteered an answer she continued, "This is Augusta Longbottom, a friend of the family..."

"Oh, and you mustn't forget my grandson Neville," Augusta cut her off. It was important that she be the one to say this part. "He lives here with the Potters. Would have taken him in myself but circumstances conspired to make it impossible. Oh dear, where's he gone and hidden? He's such a shy boy." She raised her voice, allowing it to carry further, "Neville?" He popped his head in from the adjoining room and approached shyly. "Oh there you are boy. Come over and say hello to the Creeveys. Their eldest is just a year younger than you."

Neville looked down at his feet and murmured, "Pleased to meet you." Then wandering over to where Lily was standing he asked in a very hushed voice, "What does eldest mean?"

She smiled down at him reassuringly missing the glare that the boy's grandmother sent her way. "It just means oldest child. Now why don't the three of you run along and play? Go on."

When the three had scampered off, she turned to her guests and asked, "Would you fancy a spot of tea? I think it should be just about ready." Not waiting for an answer she turned to get the tea from the kitchen.

They were all still standing around in awkward silence when she returned moments later. "There's no need to stand around in silence like that. Do sit down. Honestly, a bunch of grown people can't carry on a conversation without a moderator." She set the tea down and started to pour it into one of the cups she had brought with her. Handing it to Mrs. Creevey she said "Here you go Carla. Help yourself to the cream and sugar." Starting on the second she asked politely, "What is it that you do for a living Melg?"

He accepted the cup she offered him and replied simply, "I'm a milkman."

"Really? I expect you're used to fresh milk then. I'm afraid what I have isn't... What about you Carla?" She'd passed a third cup to Augusta and started on a fourth when Carla responded, blushing lightly.

"I, well I never went back to work after Dennis was born. I worked as a secretary for a while after Colin came around but then..."

Lily handed a cup to her husband. "No need to be embarrassed. I never went back to work myself, after Harry was born. The boys are quite a handful." She sat down, having finished pouring her own cup. "Not that my husband is any better. He and his friends are always pulling pranks around the house. Never grew up."

"Hey!" James feigned insult.

"Don't give me that. You know it's true. Well then, what brings you to the neighbourhood?" The conversation carried on for quite a bit, prodded often by Lily, seeing that the two groups didn't seem to know what to talk about.

The children, on the other hand, didn't have any problem starting a conversation on their own. As soon as they left the company of the grown-ups their shyness seemed to evaporate. Turning to Harry, Colin said, in his high pitched voice, "I thought Neville was your imaginary friend..."

Harry giggled. "Nah, Neville's not imaginary. He's as real as you and me."

The confused look that had dominated his face the previous afternoon returned, "Then why couldn't I see him yesterday?"

"Well you see, Gran cast this spell so no one could find me and..." Neville told Colin the story that Lily had told him the day before. It didn't occur to him that he shouldn't after all.

Colin, being a three-year old with plenty of imagination, accepted the story. Then they had a splendid conversation about Colin's imaginary friend and the reason why they had left his old neighbourhood behind. It seemed that Colin had had a certain bout of magic at his babysitter's and started a bit of a scandal which led to his mum quitting work to stay home and take care of him... All this was said in the light-hearted, excited tone of a child who has plenty to say. In fact, Colin did most of the talking that first night but by the time his parents came to fetch him, the three boys had become good friends.

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**A.N.** In case any of you were going to ask, though I seriously doubt it, I was trying to make a pun with Melg Creevey's name. It's a name of Indo-European background that supposedly means milk. I just thought I'd throw that in.

I would also like to take this moment to thank my wonderful beta for her help on this chapter. I made quite a lot of stupid mistakes and yet she still got it back to me incredibly quickly...


	6. Chapter 6

**Acknowledgements:** I would like to credit ER Queen of Insanity at FFN with some of the ideas that appear in this chapter.

Colin came over bright and early the next morning. Well, not incredibly early, the boys were already up and outside, after all. But it was early enough that he seemed to exude even more energy than he had the first time they'd met. "I asked mum if I could come and play and she said okay, as long as I didn't wander off too far or you were too busy to keep me company. You're not too busy are you?"

Neville answered, "No."

"We were just trying to decide what to play," added Harry.

"What do you want to play?" asked Neville.

"What about tag?" Colin suggested.

"We can't play tag,"

Before Harry could explain why they couldn't play tag, Neville cut him off and finished for him, "We're not enough people for tag."

Colin giggled, "You guys are funny."

Twin looks of confusion crossed the boys' faces, "Huh?" queried Harry.

"Why are we funny?" asked Neville.

"You finish each other's sentences," the younger boy explained. "My cousins do that too. But they're twins."

"Oh." The looks of confusion dissipated, "We're not twins," replied Harry

"We're not even related," added Neville

"But we do spend a lot of time together," finished Harry. "Neville's been living with us for a long time. Since we were babies."

"Like Dennis?"

"Who's Dennis?" asked Neville.

"He's my baby brother. Sometimes mum lets me hold him. He sleeps a lot," Colin explained matter-of-factly, quite proud at being bigger than his brother and no longer needing to sleep so much.

"Really? It's just me and Neville here, and we're almost exactly the same age."

"I'm older," piped in Neville.

"By _one_ day," countered Harry. Then turning to Colin he whispered, "He never lets me forget it."

Not wanting to be excluded any further from the conversation, Neville changed the topic, "So what are we going to play?"

"What about hide and go seek?" Colin suggested. It was his favourite game to play, but he hadn't had anyone to play it with since his mum had taken him out of daycare.

"We need more people for that too," replied Neville.

Noticing the disappointed look on Colin's face, Harry added, "But maybe we can play some other time. We play sometimes when Sirius and Remus come over."

"But Sirius cheats," Neville pouted.

"He peeks? At daycare they made us wear blindfolds so we couldn't peek." Colin said, proud of his solution, even if it wasn't really his.

"No, he doesn't peek, he turns into Padfoot and sniffs us out," Harry explained as if this were the only way of cheating and quite obvious.

"How does he do that? I don't smell.. well not unless I wet myself, and I haven't done that in ages. Dennis is smelly sometimes though… What's a pafoot?" The boys had once more succeeded in confusing him.

"I don't know how he does it," replied Harry.

"It's magic," offered Neville, cutting off before he could explain what Padfoot was.

"Padfoot is what dad and Remus call him when he turns into a dog," continued Harry.

"Dogs have a very good nose. They can smell children," added Neville.

"But you can't tell anyone about Padfoot," warned Harry.

"It's a secret," explained Neville.

"Okay," replied Colin, still slightly confused. But it was magic, after all, and magic couldn't always be explained. So instead of asking more questions about Padfoot, he asked instead, "So what are we going to play?"

The boys sat several minutes in silence, thinking. Even Colin didn't move for three whole minutes, despite the energy balled up inside him. Finally, Harry broke the silence, "I have an idea, let's play Aurors and Dark wizards"

"What's that?" the muggle-born wizard asked.

But neither of the other two boys knew how to explain. Instead, Lily who had been watching the entire discourse replied, "It's kind of like cop and robbers, but you play with magic wands."

"I don't have a magic wand…" Colin pointed out. It was starting to occur to him that he and his new friends were different from each other.

Harry, noting Colin's concern replied, "Neither do I, but dad promised me and Neville a toy one for Christmas. It's supposed to be really cool. It makes real sparks and everything. But we can just play with sticks."

"Come on, it'll be fun," Neville piped as he and Harry dragged him off to find straight sticks, explaining the game as they went.

Now as often happens when little boys, or little girls for that matter, start playing their little games and enter into the realm of their imaginations, they eventually lost track of time. The sun was high in the sky by the time they stopped playing and even then they only stopped because Mrs. Creevey called Colin in for lunch. Otherwise they would have likely continued until the sun sank so low in the sky that they could no longer see what they were doing. Or perhaps they would have stopped when their stomachs began gnawing in hunger…

But as things stand, Carla called her son in at about noon and he returned home rather reluctantly mumbling, "Bye, I'll see you later okay?" to his friends.

Lunch was on the table when Colin entered the house but before he could sit himself down and dig in, he was ushered to the washroom. "Don't you even think of eating with those dirty hands of yours. Go wash them first and be sure to use soap. Your friends can wait a few minutes longer. Besides they're probably eating too. You're not missing anything."

Sure enough, the two older boys were also being called in to eat. Of course, this fact was not enough to stop Colin from protesting about being forced to wash before lunch and he finally did so only reluctantly.

He returned, not quite clean, but cleaner than he had left. His mum, nodding her approval at his improved appearance asked, as he sat down to eat, "So what were you boys playing anyway that you were so reluctant to come and eat?"

Forgetting that he was upset at her for calling him in, Colin rattled off his tale in his ever excited tone, "We were playing the coolest game. It was like cops and robbers except we used magic wands instead of guns, but they weren't real wands. They were just sticks but Harry's mum has a real wand and I saw her use it and she hung the laundry up without even touching it and we cast magic spells too but they weren't really magic spells. They were just pretend and Neville says he can't wait to go Hogwarts because then he can learn real magic and get a real wand and he says I can go too and…" The young boy rattled on for quite some time, amazing his mum with his ability to go on for so long without stopping to breathe. He told her quite a bit of what he had heard about the magical world as well but all that really registered in her mind was that her son had finally found friends that rivalled him in the imagination department.

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**A.N.** Well what do you think? I hope the dialogue wasn't overdone. I quite enjoyed writing it. The conversation ended up taking up so much space that I didn't get a chance to include everything I wanted. That means more fun and games to come. Oh well, hope you enjoyed and leave reviews. I like reviews. 

I would also like to thank my beta Aggiebell for working through the holiday weekend to get this back to me in record time and for catching all the mistakes I made…


	7. Chapter 7

As fate would have it, the boys didn't get to finish their game that afternoon. The heavens sent rain down while they were eating and the weather still hadn't let up by the time they were tucked into their beds that night. In fact, it was still raining the next morning when the three awoke in their separate beds and they were each forced to spend the day indoors. By the third afternoon of the downpour, Lily had become quite frustrated with the boys' whining that they wanted to play with Colin. They had only known each other a day, after all.

Still, Lily decided that the best thing to do in order to calm them down would be to call Mrs. Creevey and invite the boy over. Naturally, it simply wouldn't do to give them a fire call. So instead, Lily picked up the muggle telephone that she still used to call old friends and dialled the muggle phone number that Carla had given her three days earlier.

After three rings someone at the other end picked up, "Hello?"

"Hello, Carla? This is Lily Potter, from next door."

"Yes of course. How are you?"

"I'm very well, thanks. How are you? I take it you're still busy unpacking."

"Dear me, it's a disaster area over here. So many boxes…"

Lily gave a sympathetic sigh, "Yes I remember when we moved here, with Harry a little under a year old and He-Who-Mu– but you don't want to know about that… I'm actually calling because the boys have been asking after Colin and… I was wondering if you'd mind my having over for the day?"

"Mind? You'd be doing me a favour. Are you sure he wouldn't be a bother."

"Nonsense, I'll be over to pick him up. I know you have the little one the keep an eye on."

"Thanks, I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

"Bye"

Hanging up the phone, Lily turned to the boys who were sitting not far away, listening to her side of the conversation. "Come on boys, get your umbrellas, we're going to get your friend.

Although the umbrellas that they each got out looked exactly like muggle umbrellas on the outside they were charmed so as to prevent the people they covered from getting wet at all and could even be used in handless mode, hovering above a witch or wizard whose hands were otherwise occupied. In fact, The boys had been out in the yard with them the previous day, playing in the puddles and had come in completely dry. Unfortunately they'd also come in covered in dry and caked mud from the puddles they had intentionally jumped in…

Making sure that the boys were following close behind her, Lily made her way over to the house next door. She paused for a moment as they reached the edge of the Potter's property and considered the fact that once they crossed the invisible barrier that surrounded the house, Neville would be perfectly visible, something which could possibly put him in danger. She didn't pause for long though. They couldn't keep the boy cooped up forever, much as Augusta seemed to want to. What harm could be the harm in a short trip next door in a muggle neighbourhood accompanied by a fully trained and competent witch?

And so, before long they had rung the doorbell of the neighbouring house, collected Colin, and were once more in the safety of the dry kitchen of Number 5.

Now faced with the dilemma of how to occupy three young boys, Lily came up with the suggestion, "Let's bake cookies." Naturally, there wasn't much that two four-year-olds and a three-year-old could do to help out but they were quite content to just watch her bake, anticipating the delicious warm cookies that they would later be getting.

Colin in particular watched in awe as Lily baked. He had never seen anything quite like cooking being done with a little helping hand of magic. Even her magical display a few days earlier with the laundry hadn't been enough to prepare him. Finally, after several minutes of watching, he asked the question that had been building up inside him ever since they had moved, "Are you a witch?" It had taken him a while to even consider the question and still longer to become convinced that he was right. But by the time he asked he was so convinced that even if she had laughed him off and denied it, he would have remained stuck in his belief.

However, Lily had no intention of laughing the incident off. Having grown up as a muggle herself, She was well aware of the culture shock involved in learning about the existence of the Wizarding World at age eleven. She considered it her duty to inform him about the world of magic, seeing as his parents were completely clueless in that regard. Her desire to prepare him had actually been part of her motive for wanting the boys to be able to make friends with him. She was convinced, after all, that he was a wizard and as such would have to learn the truth eventually. The fact that she had yet to receive a warning from the Ministry about performing magic in front of muggles, simply reinforced her belief.

So rather than laugh, she answered simply, "Yes, I am."

Despite his convictions, it was quite obvious from his reaction that he was not expecting her frank response. His own mum would have surely laughed at him or else grin in that strange way only grown-ups can and shake her head, had he asked her the same question. So, for the first time since he had learned to talk, Colin was speechless. It was several seconds before he recovered enough to respond, "But, but…Mum says … she says there's no such thing as…as magic…"

At this point Lily let out a light-hearted giggle, "Of course your mum would say that, though I'm surprised she broke it to you so soon… Your mum's a Muggle. She doesn't know anything about magic, well not about it being real anyway. No, magic is very real, just not everyone can do it."

"What's a muggle?" Colin asked shyly.

"Muggle is what magic folk call people who can't do magic," she replied.

"Am I a muggle?" Colin was suddenly concerned that he was doomed to be excluded from all the adventures and interesting things his friends had told him about.

"Merlin, no. I wouldn't be telling you this if you were, now would I?" The boy just stared blankly. "You're a wizard, though your parents, like mine, are muggles. In fact, it's probably best if you don't tell anyone, not that they would believe you, but it might cause problems when you're older. Of course, you mustn't try too hard to cover things up with your parents. They need a few hints along the way or they'll be completely shocked when you get your letter. I still remember when I got mine... I was shocked, my parents were shocked, my sister… well she was just plain jealous." When Lily looked up at the boy, she noticed that his eyes had glossed over in confusion. "Ah, I can see I've told you more than enough for one sitting. No need to worry if you don't understand it all right away, with time… Now, you boys run along. There's really nothing for you boys to watch anymore. I'll call you when the cookies are ready. You can get out a board game in the meantime."

Harry made to protest being sent away, "But, Mum…"

"No 'buts'. There's really nothing to watch here. Go show Colin your 'Snakes & Ladders' board?"

Now, Colin had several board games home. Well mostly they were packed away in boxes, but he remembered playing 'Snakes & Ladders' with his mum at the old house. It was one of his favourites but still he couldn't imagine the board being more excited than cookies. Of course, when Colin thought about board games, he pictured, flat pieces of cardboard and pawns so he quickly changed his mind when he saw what it actually looked like. He certainly wasn't expecting the three-dimensional game with lifelike snakes, toy sized ladders and little men that walked, climbed, and slid. Perhaps the only part of the game that he did recognize was the die that came with it. Within minutes he was as enthralled in the game as he had been the baking. In fact, he didn't hear Lily call them when the cookies were ready, though the others did and refused to continue playing until after they had stuffed themselves. None of them heard the doorbell though, when Colin's father came to fetch him. Yes, the boys were getting to be good friends…

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**A.N.** Well what do you think? Now don't go telling me that Colin isn't supposed to know he's a wizard until he gets his Hogwarts letter. I know that's what he says in canon, but in canon, Lily wasn't around to tell him. Anything else you might want to complain about is welcome. I don't promise to agree but I promise to read. Either way, I hope you enjoyed and leave reviews. I like reviews…

I'd like my beta, Aggiebell for working through the weekend to get this back to me and for her wonderful comments.


	8. Chapter 8

Later that evening, when everyone was settling down after dinner, an unexpected, but certainly not unwanted, visitor arrived through the fireplace of the Potter residence. Her unannounced arrival to visit her grandson was so commonplace that when she stepped out of the fireplace James merely looked up from his paper for a moment and greeted her, "Good evening, Augusta" before returning to his evening reading.

She in turn responded, "Good evening, James" before turning to the boys and saying, "Good evening, Neville, come over here and give me a hug." He came over slowly, neither rushing to greet her nor shying away. Her relationship with the boy could hardly be considered that of a doting grandmother, but nor was she unduly severe, most of the time anyway. Rather, they had a loving if overly protective relationship.

While Augusta pulled Neville into an embrace, Harry remained seated where he was, not wanting to intrude, and waited his turn. Harry always received just as much love from her as her own grandson, without all the overdone paranoid protection. When she called him to her, "What about you Harry? Come over here and give Augusta a hug." Harry dutifully rose to greet the old lady, allowing himself to be pulled into a warm embrace.

Finally, she released her hold on the two boys and enquired, "So what did you two do today? Have you been up to no good?"

Both boys shook their heads energetically. "This morning, me and Harry played– "

"Harry and I" Augusta corrected, interrupting Neville's narrative.

Neville bowed his head in apology, "Sorry, Harry and I played with our action figures, and then…and then…" Neville trailed off mid-sentence, unable to continue. He wasn't one to stammer normally but it made him nervous when his grandmother corrected him and he often found himself at a loss for words.

Harry picked off where the other boy had left off, "Then after lunch, we went next door to pick up Colin so we could…" Harry too trailed off noticing that the woman's face had suddenly turned red and she looked like she might blow up like the time he'd told her that Daddy had taken them flying. Both boys backed away, frightened that they had upset her.

But her rage was not directed at them. She swivelled around violently, turning to face Lily, then let loose a torrent, "YOU DID WHAT?"

Lily, who had been listening to the conversation, replied, shaking slightly, "I simply took the boys next door when I went to pick up their playmate."

"YOU TOOK HIM OFF THE PROPERTY WHERE ANYONE COULD SEE HIM!" she continued to yell.

James, wisely rose from where he was sitting and made his way over to the boys. Ushering them from the room. "Come on, boys. Let's go upstairs. I'll read you a story." As soon as he had gotten them out of the room, he cast a silencing spell on the room. Then, sending his wife a pitying look, he followed the boys upstairs.

At this point Lily was yelling too, "WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER, THAT I HAD LEFT THEM ALONE IN THE HOUSE?"

"You needn't have invited the boy over in the first place," the other countered.

"The boys wanted to see him." Lily explained.

"Do you give them everything they want?" the older woman demanded.

"No of course not." Then seeing that she wasn't going to win the argument this way, she continued, "What am I supposed to do? Keep the child under house arrest?"

"Only till he's older."

"Older? He's already four years old. Next year he'll be needing to start school. No matter how old he gets, you'll always think he's too young."

"He's still a boy."

"Exactly, he has to get out. Most kids his age have playmates. They get out of the house, visit the park…"

"The yard is big enough. He's got Harry to play with."

"It's not enough. Besides he was perfectly safe. We only went next door. I was there the whole time with him."

"Still, he could have been seen."

"We're in the middle of a Muggle neighbourhood. There isn't another wizarding family in the whole town. Who would have seen him?"

"You can never be too careful…"

"Yes you can, the boy needs to be able to live a normal life. We can't keep him completely sheltered and locked up."

"He's not a normal boy…"

"But he _is_, of what he has given the world, regardless of the power he wields, regardless of his magical potential, he is still just a boy, a boy with a right to a normal childhood. I know you want to protect him Augusta, but you have to let him live. Trust me. Let me take him out of the house, let him have a life. We don't have to take the charm off. I won't be careless about his safety. Trust me…" It seemed that she had finally gotten through.

Augusta conceded reluctantly, but everything in her tone and posture suggested that she would make her regret it if anything should happen to her grandson.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Neville, having allowed himself to be ushered away from the row, turned to James and asked, "James, why is Gran upset?"

"Well…you see…umm…remember the spell your Gran cast on you to protect you from evil wizards?" Neville nodded and he continued, "so she cast this spell, right? The thing is…the spell only works if you stay on our property…see? And so when Lily took you next door to see Colin, you weren't invisible. People could see you. And, well… your Gran, she worries about you. She doesn't want you to get hurt and so she's upset that Lily took you out. Do you understand?"

Neville nodded in response as Harry asked shyly, "Were we in danger?"

"No, no, of course not," James tried to reassure him, "but that doesn't stop Neville's Gran from worrying." Neville tried to smile but he was still shaken up from hearing the two women yelling. Both boys were. James, held out both his arms and pulled the children into a warm embrace, "There, there… everything will be fine. It'll all work out." Then releasing them he added, "Now go on and pick out a book for me to read to you."

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**A.N.** Well what do you think? Was the row unrealistic? Did I overdo it? Do you folks feel this story contains too much arguing? There shouldn't be quite so much once the boys start school. The problem is that the adults have to establish a balance in the way that Neville will be raised but they have a hard time agreeing. I'd love to hear from you. Reviews are welcome, (if not encouraged) even flames.

I'd like to thank my beta Aggiebell for her work on this chapter (and all the ones that came before…).


	9. Chapter 9

The sun came up the next day and things returned to normal, or whatever passed for normal in the Potter household... There was now a third child underfoot but that hardly changed anything in the household. Rather, it was the extra child with the changes to deal with. To his credit, Colin took it all in stride and adjusted quite admirably to the weird happenings of number 5, and came to expect things to act the way that they did at the Potter's. One morning, he even asked his mum why the toast didn't come out of their toaster with the jelly already on it, like it did next door. She just smiled and answered, "They must have an extra special toaster," while dismissing the notion as the product of overactive imagination and that of his peers, something she found herself doing quite often of late.

A strong friendship was blossoming between the three and before long they became nearly inseparable. True, the bond between the two older boys was stronger than any bond the three could ever share but they accepted the younger boy openly and unconditionally. They found his ignorance of all things magical amusing and took it upon themselves to educate him. Naturally, their own knowledge was limited and often inaccurate, but, with nothing to compare to, Colin certainly didn't notice.

Sirius, during a visit one Saturday afternoon, commented to James and Remus, "They remind me of us, except we didn't meet till we were eleven," uncharacteristically deep in thought.

The comment stirred up memories of their own school days, of their marauding, the four of them... Thinking of the four of them inevitably led to thoughts of Peter which...and without realising it, James found himself saying, "Let's hope they don't admit a Wormtail into their midst." The discussion ended there, none of the three wanting to discuss their betrayal as they were each pulled into gloomy thoughts, unable to come up with a new topic for discussion. They probably would have remained that way quite a while longer than they did if the three young boys had not grown bored of their current game and decided to drag them into a game of hide-and-go-seek.

Of course, not all the summer days ended with the toddlers engaging the Marauders in their play. After all, not every day is Saturday. Most days were spent with Lily as the only adult supervision. Other days, the children played over at the Creevey's but such instances were rare. Not only was it safer for them to remain where she could supervise, but Lily insisted that it was only fair that she did the bulk of the babysitting. She had to argue her case quite frequently with Colin's mother, but her argument was always the same, "Two of the three are mine to watch. I can't expect you to deal with two extra children, not to mention you've got another still in diapers to worry about. That in itself ought to be more than a handful." Eventually, Carla simply stopped putting up a fuss about it.

So the children spent most of their time at number 5, and Lily never had a chance to make good of the battle she had won with Augusta Longbottom, allowing her to take the boys out on outings. In fact, the days had begun to grow short and the leaves in the trees had begun to change their colours before she proposed a trip.

At breakfast, Lily greeted them cheerily, "I've got a treat for you today."

The boys both took her comment quite literally but Neville was the first to exclaim, "Cookies!"

Lily giggled at the suggestion, "No, not that kind of treat."

Quite excited now and unable to contain his excitement, Harry exclaimed, "Chocolate!" They rarely got chocolate, except on special occasions.

Lily giggled once more, "No, no. Nothing you can eat," then noting their confusion, she added, "We're going to the zoo."

Both faces brightened, but Harry was the one to ask, "Really?"

She nodded affirmatively. Then Neville asked the question that had begun puzzling him with her affirmation, "But there's no zoo in the house? Or on the lawn?"

Not quite sure what he was getting at, Lily responded, "No, of course not."

"But we're not allowed to leave the lawn," continued the youngster.

Seeing where Neville was going, Harry added sadly, "You said so."

Lily giggled once more, "Yes, I suppose I did, but I'll be with you so it's ok. Besides, I let you go next door, don't I?"

Harry seemed reassured by this but Neville asked, "Me too?"

"Yes, of course, you too. I wouldn't take only Harry. Where he goes you go. Where you go he goes," Lily tried to reassure him.

"But, Gran..." he trailed off.

Lily smiled wryly. So the boy was starting to notice his grandmother's overprotective tendencies. "I spoke to your grandmother. We reached an agreement."

"What's an agreement?" This time it was Harry that spoke up.

"An agreement is when two people agree," realizing that her explanation was hardly adequate, she added, "when they both think something is ok."

"Oh," he seemed reassured now that he would not be excluded from the outing and finally thought to wonder about his newest friend, "Is Colin coming too?"

"No, he went with his mum and his brother to visit his aunt. Remember? Today it'll just be the three of us."

Both boys' cheery expressions dropped, clearly disappointed but Lily chastised them, "Don't give me that. We'll have lots of fun. It'll be an adventure."

If wasn't long before they were out the front door. Lily had packed a picnic lunch a was planning on making a day of the outing. When they reached the end of the street and stopped before crossing the intersection, Harry looked back the way they had come. "Is something wrong, darling?" Lily asked when he did not immediately follow as she began to cross the street.

"No, it's just that the house looks small from here. Did it shrink?"

Lily giggled, "Don't worry about that Harry. It's just because we're far from it. Things look smaller from far."

"So it didn't shrink?" he asked, once more.

"No, it didn't shrink," she reassured him.

"Will it look even smaller when we get to the zoo?" asked Neville

"We won't be able to see it from the zoo."

"Why not?" he implored.

"Will it become invisible like Neville?" suggested Harry.

"No, no," Lily smiled, "We won't see it because there will be buildings in the way. They'll hide it.

"Hide it? Like the Easter hunt? Or like hide-and-go-seek?" queried Harry.

"No quite. You know how there is a house in back of ours?" both boys nodded. "Can you see that house when you're in the front yard?"

"No," they answered together.

"Well, it's like that. We won't see the house because there will be other houses between us and our house. Do you understand?" When they both nodded she continued, "Well, lets get going now."

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**A.N. **Well what do you think? I'm not sure how much I like this chapter. I think I might have upset my flow somehow but I can't seem to fix it. This started off as a visit to the park but the zoo opened up such interesting possibilities. I hope this chapter wasn't too much of a disappointment. Not much happened. Then again, nothing seems to happen. Well let me know what you though. I'd love to hear from you. Reviews are welcome, if not encouraged. I will even welcome flames.

Thank you, once again to my wonderful beta Aggiebell.


	10. Chapter 10

The next time they stopped, several blocks later, it was Lily that called the halt. Naturally the boys assumed that they had reached their destination.

"Are we there?" asked Neville.

"I don't see any animals," complained Harry.

"No we aren't there yet. Don't worry, there will be animals at the zoo," Lily reassured. They continued to stand at the corner where they had stopped for several minutes before Lily's thoughts were once more interrupted by the curious and confused four-year-olds accompanying her.

"Why are we standing here?" asked Neville.

"Are we waiting to cross the street?" ventured Harry. He had noticed a lot more of the big moving things –cars, Lily had called them –on this street than the others they had crossed. Perhaps since she had warned against running in front of them, they were waiting for them to go away.

But Lily wasn't following the same logic as her son. "No, we're waiting for the bus," she replied, "so we don't have to walk all the way to zoo."

This answer was of course inadequate for a boy that had never taken a bus before and had never heard them mentioned before. "What's a bus?" he asked.

"Is it like a broom?" Neville suggested. She had said it would get them to the zoo without having to walk, "Or like a Portkey?"

"It's not really like either of those things, Neville. Those things work with magic. A bus is a Muggle thing, though we did steal the idea from them. It's a lot like the cars you've seen, except it's bigger so a lot of people can get on. Do you understand?" Both boys nodded just as the bus arrived. "Well then, let's get on. Watch your step."

The bus ride itself was uneventful –well aside from the endless chatter of the two boys –and soon it was time to get off. "Come on, boys. This is our stop. We're almost there now." Lily's comment about them being near their destination instigated a new round of questions from the two increasingly excited boys.

"Are we going to see dragons?" Harry asked.

"They don't keep dragons in the zoo, darling, especially not a Muggle zoo."

Neville looked disappointed, "So no unicorns?"

Lily shivered at the thought of a confined unicorn, such pure creatures. "No, of course not. You can't lock up a unicorn," she responded, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. It was just an innocent question. The boys didn't know about the purity of unicorns and the injustices they had suffered in the past at the hands of Muggle hunters, part of the reason they avoided male humans so entirely.

"No owls?" queried Harry, not really expecting a positive response.

To his surprise, he got one, "There should be owls, all different kinds. Some you've probably never seen before."

"Do they keep them in cages?" asked Neville, confused. Animals in zoos were supposed to be in cages, right? At least that was what he had heard.

Lily nodded, "Yes, although some of them are kept behind glass."

Harry had evidently caught on to Neville's train of thought, "Then how do they deliver post?"

Lily answered bluntly, trying to diffuse further questioning, "They don't."

"But…" The two boys protested as one.

Lily cut them off, "They aren't post owls. They belong to the zoo."

Unable to fathom any reason for owning an owl other than to deliver post, Harry protested once more, "Doesn't the zoo use them for post?"

Frustrated, Lily replied, "No."

"Oh," the idea finally sinking in –or so it seemed –he asked, "Then how do they deliver their post?"

"Do they use public owls?" suggested Neville.

So maybe they hadn't quite understood yet. Lily paused trying to figure out how to explain to them, "No it's a Muggle zoo. Muggles don't use owls to deliver their post. They use Muggle post."

Neville asked, "They don't use owls? Why?" just as Harry queried, "Muggle post? What's that?"

Lily laughed, it wasn't often that the boys didn't think along the same train of thought. "Slow down boys. I can't answer all your questions at once." She took a moment to organize her thoughts before responding, "Muggles don't know that owls can deliver post so thy had to come up with a way to deliver post themselves. They set up a whole system to deliver their post."

"The Muggles deliver it themselves?" asked Neville.

Hearing this and recalling that owls delivered post by flying from one place to another, Harry exclaimed, "Muggles can fly?"

Not quite understanding what he was getting at, Lily responded, "No, of course not. What does that have to do with delivering post?"

By now Harry and Neville were once more on the same wavelength and it was the latter that asked the question, "If they can't fly, how do they deliver post?"

Lily laughed at this twisted wizard logic, "You don't need to fly to deliver post. The Muggle postman delivers it, with a truck."

"A truck?"

"It's like a car but only one person rides in it and the back is big so there's lots of space the store the post," Lily expanded.

Finally understanding –or at least pretending to understand –Harry asked, "Is that how Colin's parents deliver their post? They don't have an owl."

"Yes, it is," Lily replied relieved, that the topic had finally run dry –or so she thought.

"But Colin's not a Muggle," Neville protested.

"Why don't they use owl post?" asked Harry.

"No, Colin isn't a Muggle, but his parents are, so they use Muggle post. They don't know about owl post," she attempted to explain.

"Why don't we tell them?" suggested Neville.

"We're not allowed, not until Colin gets his Hogwarts letter." She might not agree with the law but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Oh," was the response, and just like that the conversation was over.

Of course, the quiet didn't last long. Less than a minute later, Harry asked the question that annoys parents everywhere, both Muggle and magic, "Are we there yet?"

Lily, who hadn't had much occasion to hear the question in the past, responded far more good-naturedly than many would, "Almost, you can see it from here."

As they reached the gates to the zoo, she called them to a halt and said, "Now remember, this place is full of Muggles so we don't talk about magic."

Both boys nodded solemnly and the trio walked up to the ticket booth.

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**A.N. **Well what do you think? I'm not sure how much I like this chapter. I seem to have written an entire chapter where nothing happens. The next chapter will definitely deal with what happens at the zoo. I had intended to include it in this chapter but I seem to have underestimated the curiosity of two four-year-olds. I hope you don't object to the endless dialogue. When I imagine scenarios, I imagine what people think and what they say rather than what they do. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear from you. Reviews are welcome, if not encouraged. I will even welcome flames.

Many thanks to my beta Aggiebell.


	11. Chapter 11

**Acknowledgements:** I would like to credit Arnel at PhoenixSong with some of the ideas that appear in this chapter.

If it weren't for the fact that she held the hands of both boys firmly upon walking through the gates to the zoo gates, Lily would have lost them both within minutes. Doing what they were told ha never been their forte, and considering their excitement, they certainly couldn't be bothered to follow the simple instruction, "Stay near me."

There were naturally plenty of animals to see, many more, in fact, than there was time to see in a single day. They started the day with the lions –Lily _was _a Gryffindor after all and the zoo wasn't likely to have any actual griffins – and the young mother found herself as enthralled as the boys by the mighty roar they were graced with, though she certainly didn't squeal in response. Her awe lasted only as long as it took the boys too stop squealing and inquire, "Why did they shave that lion's hair off?" in regards to the one of the lionesses. They moved on to the next big cat while Lily tried to formulate her answer.

After all, it wasn't the animals themselves that made the morning trying. No that honour was reserved for the hundreds of questions the boys sent her way. Some questions were easy: "What's that, mum?" Some were slightly harder: "What's the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, Lily?" Some were challenging: "Mum, why do zebras have stripes?", "Why does that bird have it's head in the ground?". Some were ridiculous: "Why doesn't the crocodile grow wings and fly away?" Some were funny: "If storks deliver babies, who delivers baby storks?" That last one really caught her by surprise since she knew for a fact that neither she nor James had ever mentioned storks as the world's source of babies.

Then of course there was the bloodcurdling moment when the boys asked if they could go play ball with the bears, who were playing lazily in the sun. At least they hadn't tried to jump in with the crocodiles whose enclosure they could have conceivably gotten themselves into, a fact that caused her to increase her grip on their hands as they walked past.

By the time lunch rolled around they'd seen only a fraction of what the zoo had to offer. Lily's voice was hoarse from answering questions, and neither boy seemed interested in slowing down or at least letting up on the questions. Only by promising ice cream later in the afternoon was she able to convince them to settle down to eat.

Even then, she barely had a moment to sit down and take in a deep breath, let alone eat, before they were dragging her out of her seat and nagging to get back to the exhibits. Neville practically begged to see the snakes next, a suggestion Lily didn't quite understand. Wanting to get out of the midday sun, Lily elected, leaving no room for objection from the boys, that they visit the indoor exhibits for nocturnal animals which were kept in relative darkness in the day and lit at night, insuring that they'd be most active during visiting hours.

The first thing they saw there were the bats about which Harry inquired, "Are those vampires, mum?"

Before Lily could respond, Neville added, "Like Snivillus?"

Taken aback, Lily's original response died on her lips, "Snivillus?"

Harry answered for his brother, "Dad said he was a 'greasy git' that went to school with you, and that he liked to lurk in the dungeons cause he was a vampire, and –"

"That's enough Harry. Firstly, Severus Snape may have been a rude man but he was not and is not a vampire. You will not go around insulting him either. He is a professor at Hogwarts now and deserves your respect. Secondly, those bats are not vampires. There aren't any magical creatures in the zoo.

Lily didn't get any more uncomfortable questions until the final nocturnal exhibit where the boys became enthralled by the zoo's Barred Owl. It was Neville that popped the question, "Can we get an owl like that one, Lily?" to which she responded, "No dear, they only live in America," hoping in vain that they wouldn't ask what America was…

When Lily finally the boys to visit the snakes, the first words out of Harry's mouth –after "Wow", that is –were, "Is that really a snake? How come the ones in our garden aren't that big?"

Lily attempted to explain to Harry that big snakes like that only lived in the rainforest, and then answer his questions as to what exactly a rainforest was, explaining that the trees in said forests were not in fact made of rain but rather that it rained a lot. That response prompted the question as to whether or not snakes could swim, which was followed up by a query as to why they didn't drown in the rainforest…

While this was going on, Neville turned to the snake behind the glass and greeted it, "Hello."

To most human ears, had anyone been paying attention, the greeting sounded like a random hiss, no different from when the boys had tried quacking at the ducks or roaring at the lions. But the snake understood his words, and unlike Lily who was still trying to field Harry's questions, was paying attention to the human child. So, despite its shock at being addressed by a human, it responded, "Hello."

Neville hadn't really been expecting an answer he could understand, so naturally he was surprised. Interrupting Lily's explanation of habitats, he commented, "I didn't all know snakes could talk."

Not knowing exactly what the child was talking about, but glad for the respite from the dead-end conversation she was currently having with Harry, she answered him, "They can't."

Neville, however, was quite sure he hadn't imagined the whole thing and insisted, "But the snake just said hello to me…I heard it."

Lily paled in response, "Are you sure?"

Determined to prove his point, and wondering why grown-ups never believed him or Harry –so what if they were always making things up? They still told the truth sometimes. Grown-ups should know the difference–he replied, "Yes, listen," then turning back to the snake said, "I'm Neville, what's your name?" Lily paled further as she heard him hissing.

The snake's response, which only Neville could understand, was, "I don't have a name."

Neville turned back to Lily, "Isn't that sad?"

"Isn't what sad?" Lily tried to hide her concern at the display, and failing miserably.

"That he doesn't have a name."

"Did he tell you that?" she asked, fearing the answer.

The confused boy responded, "Of course, you didn't hear him?"

"No I didn't. Not many people can talk to snakes, Neville. It's a very rare gift." _It's also a gift associated with evil_ she added to herself. _Of course I don't believe that stuff, but it's frightening nonetheless. _

Harry chose this moment to speak up, interrupting her train of distressing thought, "Can people really talk to snakes, Mum? Colin and I thought he was making it up."

Lily turned to her son, "Making what up, Harry?"

"About talking to the garden snake. He said it was a magic talking snake, but we didn't believe him."

She turned once more to Neville and asked, "It's happened before that you've spoken to snakes?"

Neville squirmed uncomfortably, "Yeah, but it was a magic snake. You said the animals in the zoo weren't magic."

"Did the garden snake tell you it was magic?"

"No, but I thought it must be, cause snakes aren't supposed to talk."

Lily sighed, as tempting as it was to explain the situation away as the work of magical snakes, which certainly did exist but were rare, it didn't ring true. Besides the snake before her was undeniably of the non-magical variety. "We don't have any magic snakes in our garden, Neville. It's you that's special, not the snakes. But just so we can be sure, can you do me a favour?" He nodding slowly. Glancing at the plaque on the glass she said, "Ask it if it's a girl or a boy"

Neville nodded again, more quickly this time then turned to the snake and asked, "Are you a boy snake or girl snake?"

The snake seemed to take offence at the question and answered curtly, "I'm male, thank you very much."

Neville turned back to Lily and relayed the message, "It says it's male. What does male mean Lily?"

Lily paled further, there was no doubt now, "It means, it's a boy."

"So he can really talk to snakes?" Harry asked once more.

"Yes, he can really talk to snakes." Thankfully there was no one else around within hearing distance.

"Is it supposed to sound like he's hissing when he talks to them?" he asked, curious, "cause all I heard was hissing"

"I think so, the hissing means something to him and the snake. It's snake language."

Harry asked, "Do all animals have their own language that they talk in?" just as Neville asked "I was hissing?"

"Slow down, boys. One at a time. Yes, Neville, you were hissing. Some people think they do, Harry, but because people can't understand animals talking we can't know for sure."

"But I was just talking normal," Neville insisted.

"To you it sounded normal but Harry and I just heard hissing."

"So I can talk a different language?" When Lily nodded, he continued, excited, "I can't wait to tell Gran."

A look of horror crossed Lily's face, "No, no," she replied quickly, "perhaps it would be best if I told her." _What will she say?_ Then changing the subject she suggested, "How about we go get that ice cream I promised? Then we can go to the petting zoo."

"What's a petting zoo?" already the boys' minds had moved on but Lily's still dwelt on the incident. How was she going to explain to Augusta?

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**A****.N. **Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Sorry for being so predictable but it was an issue that had to be dealt with. I promise that there will be some surprises in the chapters ahead. Also, for those of you who have been following this story from the beginning an may be confused by the last sentence, in the wake of HBP I felt I should change Gran Longbottom's name to reflect canon. On a different note, please review and feel free to flame.

I'd like to thank Arnel who shared some wonderful anecdotes and observations about her own visits to the zoo, most of which I'm afraid to admit I didn't end up using in the end. I'd also like to thank my wonderful beta Aggiebell, who is currently betaing this chapter, for her continued hard work.


	12. Chapter 12

By the time Lily returned to number 5 at the end of the day, she was ready to drop. But she couldn't very well do so. The boys' complaints of hunger served as unpleasant reminders of all that still needed to be done. And of course, there was still that feeling of foreboding, which had set in since leaving the snake house…

As she opened the door, she was pleasantly surprised by the scent that reached her nose. The knowledge that she wouldn't have to cook, as exhausted as she was, brought a brief smile to her face. The smile didn't last, her mind still running through potential ways of breaking it to Augusta. Each imagined conversation further convincing her that disaster was imminent.

Suddenly, the mastermind behind the wonderful smell broke through her reverie, "I know you must have had a long day so I wanted to make it easier. It's not much but…Why the long face? What happened?"

But Lily wasn't quite ready to unload just yet, especially not with the boys listening in. So she knelt down, gave them each a peck on the forehead and told them to run along and play. Then she turned to her husband and answered, "Something that would have happened eventually anyways. At least no one noticed and now we know."

"Know what?" his response was filled with concern

"I'll tell you later," she brushed him off, "I have to call Augusta now. Did you make enough for her to join us?"

"Of course, flower, but…"

"Don't worry about it dear. It's nothing bad. I just don't want have same conversation twice." That said, she made her way over to the fireplace and threw a pinch of Floo powder in.

"Augusta, I just got home with the boys to the smell of James' cooking and I know how you love his cuisine. How would you like to come over for dinner?"

"How could I turn such an offer down? You really do need to get that man in the kitchen more often. He's a wonderful chef…" she let out a sigh, "My own husband was a disaster in the kitchen and Frank…" her voice trailed off. Then shaking herself out of it she continued, "I'll see you around six then?"

Lily nodded before pulling her head out of the fire, even more nervous than before.

Dinner itself, was rather uneventful. The boys jabbered on in turn about their day, taking heed of Lily's earlier warning not to mention the snake but ignoring all her remonstrations concerning their insistence to speak with their mouths full. They did eventually stop, however, but that was simply because Augusta intervened with a stern command that they cease such bad show of manners, effectively silencing them completely for the rest of the meal.

In fact, talk of the day out at the zoo did not resume until the boys had been sent away from the table at which point Augusta turned to Lily and said firmly, "There's something you're not telling me." When Lily made no move to deny the statement she continued, "Something happened today didn't it? I was right about it being a bad idea… You can consider your permission to bring him on outings revoked…"

Lily cause this moment to cut in, "Yes, something happened but it's not what you think. It's not even a bad thing, not really." Her comments may not have calmed the older woman down but they did get her attention so Lily pressed on, "I don't know how to phrase this… I suppose I should start by asking: How far back can you trace Neville's blood line?" The question was met with a look of indignation but, having started, Lily felt compelled to press on, "I mean… is there a possibility that he might have some blood of the Slytherin line in him?"

The flaming shade Augusta's face took on made it evident that she was approaching the issue from the wrong angle, "Our family roots can be traced to the days of the founders. I assure you that there is no Slytherin blood in the child. Whatever do you mean to suggest with such questions? If you're trying to tell me my grandson is sneaky you might want to take a look at your own son…"

Sensing another rant on its way, Lily cut her off, "I caught him speaking Parseltongue at the zoo today.

At that comment, Augusta's fury deflated visibly but she did not calm down completely, "Nonsense, the boy was no doubt merely pretending. You know children that age… I'm surprised you let yourself get worked up about it…"

"I made sure." At the older woman's questioning look, she clarified, "I asked him if the snake was a boy or girl. He answered by saying the snake claimed to be male and then asking what male meant. The snake was male."

"That doesn't prove anything"

"It does."

"There is no way. I'm positive about his bloodlines. There must be some mistake."

Lily sighed, "There's another explanation that occurred to me—but I was hoping I was wrong…What if…? Well, if he doesn't have Slytherin blood in him, what if the reason he can speak Parseltongue is because You-Know-Who left a part of himself behind in him?"

Augusta gasped. "No…no…please no…no…" was all she managed to get out before breaking into sobs, "he's all I have…"

In an instant, Lily was by her side, drawing her into a comforting hug, "Now, now there's no need to get all worked up like that. I doubt it means anything bad. He's not about to become the next Dark Lord." This comment brought on renewed sobs, "I only hesitated to suggest it because I'm sure that's how the media might make it sound. But we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. Everything will turn out fine. I'll make sure Neville understands how important it is that this remain a secret… That's it, no more tears…"

Eventually she did calm down. Calm enough to safely use the Floo, at any rate. And where was James during the whole exchange? He remained sitting in the background puzzling over the dynamics of female emotions and reactions…

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A.N.** Okay folks…I'm **REALLY**,** REALLY** sorry that this took so long. I've been going through some personal difficulties since the end of the summer and I've had no motivation to get any writing/editing done for quite a while. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the pace. I'd like to thank my beta Arnel for her work on this chapter and The Sorting Hat for pre-betaing this chapter. 


	13. Chapter 13

_This chapter is dedicated to all of you who have tried to tell a story to a four-year-old and found yourself interrupted constantly._

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That night after Augusta had left and the boys had settled down for their bedtime story Lily made good on her promise, or at least she tried to. In the place of their usual story she began, "Today at the zoo I told Neville that being able to talk to snakes was an extra special gift but I didn't tell you boys the whole story about it… So tonight's story is about the bad wizard who could talk to snakes… But first, let me tell you about the different types of magic in the world. There are many kinds of magic. Some of it is in animals alone--"

"Like dragons?" interrupted Neville.

"Yes, exactly. So some magic--"

"And unicorns?"

"Yes, Harry, unicorns too. There's other kinds of magic in magical creatures and--"

"Like trolls?"

"And centaurs?"

"Yes, and there's other kinds of magic in some plants but the--"

"Like roses?"

"No, roses aren't magic. I meant--"

"What about lilies?"

"No not lilies either. There aren't any magical plants in our garden but you'll see plenty at Hogwarts. But as I was saying, the most important magic for wizards is the magic in people--"

"Even Muggles?"

"Yes, even Muggles. They just aren't able to use their magic."

"Why not?'"

"Because it's all locked up inside them where it can't come out. But our story isn't about Muggle magic, it's about a special kind of wizard magic. Wizards and witches are born with different kinds of magic. Some of it comes naturally. Like being able to see some magical creatures or not getting hurt when you fall from high up. But some of it you have to learn and that's why we send young witches and wizards to Hogwarts, to learn about magic. Now different people might be better at some kinds of magic than others and--"

"Why?"

"I don't know, Neville. It's part of what makes us all different and special. For example I'm a lot better at Charms than James but he's better at Transfiguration. Your parents were both very good at Defence."

"What's tranfigrasion?"

"Transfiguration; changing the shape of things."

"Like cutting up paper."

"Not quite, more like changing sticks into flowers or people into animals. That sort of thing. So as I was saying, we each have our strengths but every once in a while there are witches or wizards born with special magic that most witches and wizards can't do. For example, they might be able to heal w--"

"But you can heal, Mum!"

"Yes, but I use spells. These people are really rare and can heal people just by touching them. Being able to talk to snakes is another very special magic…"

"So Neville…"

"Yes, exactly. Now the problem with having special magic is that because there are so few of them people think about famous ones and assume that--"

"What does 'assume' mean?"

"It means to believe without having any proof. So, as I was saying, people assume they are all the same just because they have the same powers. Just because so many famous witches, who had Healing powers used their--"

"And wizards?"

"Yes, Neville, wizards too…but most of them were witches. Because so many of them are famous for using their magic to help people, if a witch or wizard has Healing power people assume that they are good people even if this isn't true. Do you boys understand?"

"Yes, Lily."

"Yes, Mum."

"Good. Now once upon a time, in a time not so long ago and in a land not so far away there was a very bad wizard. He was so bad, and mean, and scary that most witches and wizards were afraid to say his name for fear that he would show up and kill them. So people lived in fear--"

"What was the bad wizard's name, Lily?"

"He called himself Vold…Volde…mort. But that wasn't--"

"Does that mean he's gonna come now, Mum, cause you said his name?"

"No, he's been gone for quite a while now. But people lived in fear for a very long time. Now one of the things that made this wizard special was that he could talk to snakes and he used them to do some very bad things because he was such a bad person. He had this one very big snake that went everywhere with him."

"What was the snake's name?"

"I don't know, Neville. Anyways, it wasn't because he could talk to snakes that he was bad but he wasn't the first bad wizard to be able to talk to snakes and so to this day there are a lot of people that think that being able to talk to snakes is something the only bad wizards can do. They think that everyone that can talk to snakes is evil."

"I'm not evil, Lily," Neville actually looked close to tears at the idea.

"I know that. I know that. But not everyone does. And that's why I have to ask you to promise not to tell anyone about being able to talk to snakes and not to talk to them in front of anyone else, not just Muggles. Do you understand why?"

"Yes, Lily," the answer was just above a whisper.

"Do you promise?" at his nod she turned to her own son, "You too, Harry. Do you promise not to tell anyone about Neville being able to talk to snakes?"

"Yes, Mum. I promise, cross my heart, hope to crash, stick a wand up my--"

"Where on Earth did you hear that?"

"From Sirius. He promised Dad that he would--"

"I'm sure I really don't want to know… just don't go repeating that. It's not very polite. I'll have a few choice words of my own to say to Sirius the next time I see him."

"Yes, Mum."

"Well, then… I think that's enough for tonight boys. Get yourselves into bed boys and I'll tuck you in."

And that's what she did, hoping whilst she did so that she had got her point across.

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**A.N. **Well, there it is. That was chapter I enjoyed writing. Hope I didn't overdo it with the dialogue grins… Here's where I ask you lot for help again. I'll be writing a chapter about Bonfire Night in coming chapters (probably around chapter 18 or so) but I don't know much about Bonfire Night except what can be garnered from research, which is just facts not anecdotes or much in the way of what actually happens during celebrations…so if any of you do and want to help me (I'd really appreciate it) leave some info in your reviews. I am assuming you'll be leaving reviews, right? I mean, you all know how much I love them, and I didn't get any for the last chapter… Anyways I'd like to thank my beta, Arnel for her hard work. I'd also like to thank Mistri Tonks' Admirer for pre-betaing this chapter. 


	14. Chapter 14

_This chapter is dedicated to_ _Mistri Tonks' Admirer whose pity for Lily inspired me to have this confrontation occur on stage.

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When Sirius Black, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, next walked into the Potter household, a week after the snake incident, on October 4th, he didn't know what hit him. What hit him was actually a Bat-Bogey hex shot his way by Lily so quickly that it was too late to duck or block by the time he caught on to the fact he was in trouble. He barely had time to react, never mind protecting himself.

"Cross my heart, hope to crash, stick a wand up my ass? Sound familiar to you?" The object of her rage reluctantly gave a small nod while attempting to cover up his discomfort. "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times to watch your language in front of the boys. Do you listen to me? No, of course not. I've half a mind to leave you like that.

"All week! He's been saying it _all week_ and now he's got Neville saying it too. YOU!" She glared him straight in the eyes, her own green eyes shining dangerously, "YOU are going to talk to them, and repent the errors of your ways. YOU are going to do so without involving me and YOU are going to make sure they never say it again… WITHOUT using memory charms. If YOU should fail to do so I WILL put you in a full body bind and leave you like this somewhere where you WON'T be found for a long time. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

He nodded in response but, "I can't HEAR you!"

So he replied "Yes, Ma'am" and corrected himself, "Yes, Lily," in response to her renewed glare.

Then, and only then did she release the hex and send him on his way.

In Sirius' defence, he did _try_ to convince them by explaining calmly that it wasn't a nice thing to say and that he shouldn't have said it in the first place. He tried explaining why it wasn't nice to talk about sticking objects up people's asses and almost got into the whole sexual connotations and sexual taboos before he realized that doing so would only get him in worse trouble.

So, then he tried lying and saying that he had regretted the words the moment they'd left his mouth. But the boys wouldn't buy that excuse. In desperation, he attempted bribery, but the boys refused to agree on a price that wouldn't get him into even more trouble. The one time he came close to getting an agreement out of Harry, Neville had refused the terms. The same thing occurred, in reverse, when Neville agreed to accept a new garden kit as payment…

So, really, by the time he uttered the faithful words he was not allowed to say, "Please, Please, stop saying it… You'll get me in trouble," he was already too desperate to fully realize what he was saying.

The boys just stared at him in shock. The concept of a grown-up getting in trouble…well that just didn't make sense. They were the ones making the rules after all, why would they…

But it didn't take them long to get over it. "Will you have to stick your wand up your ass?" Neville asked, to which Harry responded, "Would it hurt?"

Sirius let out a sigh of exasperation, "No, I wouldn't have to stick a wand up my rear. Would you stop saying that?"

"But it would hurt if you did?" implored Harry.

"I presume that it would without the proper lu– never mind…"

"The proper what?" asked Harry just as Neville asked, "What does 'presoon' mean."

Sirius ignored the first question in favour of the second, " 'Presume' means to guess."

But Harry refused to be brushed aside quite so easily, "Without the proper what?"

Desperate to avoid further trouble, Sirius replied, "Nothing you should be worrying about. Forget I even said it. You shouldn't be sticking anything there anyway."

To Sirius' relief, Harry seemed to buy that answer. Unfortunately Neville decided to open a whole new can of worms, "So if you won't have to stick your wand up your ass how will you be getting in trouble?"

His response, "Something much worse," sparked the new question, "Who will you be in trouble with?" He didn't answer for a long time. While theoretically he hadn't involved Lily yet, not having mentioned her by name, something told him that wherever she was, eavesdropping on their conversation, she wasn't buying that as an excuse. And so he took the plunge, "Lily. She promised to curse me really bad if you keep repeating the rhyme you heard me say. You don't want her to curse me, do you?"

Both boys shook their heads. "Why would she curse you?" asked Harry.

Here came the tricky part. If he made her sound like a villain he'd be in even more trouble, "Because she really doesn't like when you say things like that and she's mad at me for teaching you. So do you promise?"

Both boys answered as one, "We promise," but Neville continued on to ask, "she wouldn't curse me when she's mad would she?"

Sirius was quick to squelch that thought, "No, of course not. It's only because I'm a grown-up… She'd never curse either of you. Now go on downstairs and don't tell your mum that I told you about her threatening me…" Such instructions were pointless really since his initial guess had been right and Lily had been monitoring the conversation. Not eavesdropping, monitoring. There's a difference, as she was quick to point out when Sirius accused her of the former.

She didn't actually leave Sirius in a full body bind but she did take away his wand, cast a rather potent Bat-Bogey hex on him and leave him locked in a room for a long time. She even misled James and Remus into thinking that he'd dropped by to say he was going out of town for a while. To her credit, she did at least feed him and send him water daily, but the fact remains that he wasn't discovered until a week later when the full moon rolled around on the 10th of October and Moony showed up for his monthly transformation…

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**A.N. **Well, there it is. I apologize for the inexcusable delay. This was chapter was a challenge to write after the first 300 words but I'm quite happy with the final results. Please let me know what you think in your review. I am assuming you'll be leaving reviews, right? I mean, you all know how much I love them… Thanks to all of you who have already reviewed. I'd also like to thank my beta, Arnel for all her help. 


	15. Chapter 15

The night of All Hollow's Eve, 1984 was nothing particularly spectacular, certainly not comparable to the same evening three years earlier.

The Muggles went about their business as usual –well almost. The tradition of trick-or-treating –or simply tricking in the case of certain hooligans –was, after all, popular in many parts of the Muggle world. Even where it wasn't, Muggles put out jack-o-lanterns to ward off evil spirits, something that as any decent witch or wizard could tell you, doesn't actually work.

Wizards everywhere –in the western world anyway –enjoyed their traditional Halloween feast. The children of Hogwarts age, like thirteen-year-old Bill and eleven-year-old Charlie Weasley, enjoyed the extravagant feast at the school, an event that surpassed what most of them had ever experienced at home. Those not at Hogwarts, spent the holiday feast with family and friends.

The feast at the Potter household, involved the entire Potter and Longbottom families, as well as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Even Neville's Aunt Enid and Uncle Algie were there. So really, every witch or wizard who knew about Neville's place of residence –except young Colin Creevey –was present. They'd come together to celebrate the holiday, but the false cheeriness and celebration covered up the more sombre thoughts that were on the minds of all the adults present. The mood was so tangible that even the boys were affected and made a lot less noise than usual, which, considering the commotion they usually caused, was actually still quite a bit of noise. But the boys didn't really understand what was going on that made all the grown-ups so quiet and sad. They just knew that they were.

The small size of their gathering hardly meant that it was anything less than grand. A lot of effort had been put into the meal and there promised to be leftovers for weeks, even if the guests brought a fair share home with them.

The boys' eyes naturally gravitated towards the sweets and while adults made small talk before the meal, they sat in a corner plotting how to sneak past Lily to get to them. A carefully planned distraction accomplished just that. But, unbeknownst to them, Lily had charmed them so that they could not be removed from their platter until dinner was cleared from the table.

So instead of coming away with handfuls of sweets they found themselves with glowing orange hands, quite plainly advertising their attempt. Sirius, when he saw them laughed, "I see you've been caught orange-handed. Tried to sneak some treats, didn't you? I'm ashamed. Haven't I taught you anything?" The boys for their part looked duly guilty and began to apologise for their greed when Sirius continued, "What's the number one rule of sneaking around?" Now the boys were looking at him blankly, no longer sure of whether or not they were in trouble. "_Don't_ get caught." Sirius answered his own question. He then pulled out his wand to cancel the charm, and warning them to stay away from charmed sweets until they were able to cancel it themselves.

During the meal, the boys had to stifle their giggles and Sirius almost choked on his pumpkin juice when Lily congratulated the boys for staying away from the treats. The rest of the feast passed nearly without incident. When it was over and even dessert had been cleared away Augusta suggested sending the boys up to bed, as they had done the past two Halloweens. Lily intervened, "I think Neville should light the candles tonight."

Augusta started to object, "He's only–"

"I know and it breaks my heart that such a young child should have someone to mourn. But you know that he's known all along that we're not his parents. He's old enough now to wonder about them. He should be there to hear us reminisce."

So, instead of being sent up to bed, the boys joined the grown-ups in the living-room. Lily stood by the mantle, where two white candles had been placed, and beckoned Neville over. "Neville, these candles are for your parents. They were killed on this day three years ago and so every Halloween since you've come here we've lit these candles, in their memory. This year we want you to light them. Do you think you can do that?"

"We're not allowed to play with fire. You said–"

"I know what I said, Nev, but I think for tonight we can make an exception. Mind you, only tonight…" That said, she handed him the first of the two white candles, then pulled a slender candle out of her pocket and lit it with her wand before holding it up in front of him so that he could light Alice's memorial candle with it. "Repeat after me: In memory of Alice Longbottom, may her memory live on in those she left behind."

His voice was shaky as he repeated the words, "In memory of Alice Longbottom, may her memory live on in those she left behind."

She took the newly lit candle from him and returned it to the mantle, offering the second one in its stead, "In memory of Frank Longbottom, may his memory live on in those he left behind."

"In memory of Frank Longbottom, may his memory live on in those he left behind."

"That's it." She placed Frank's candle beside Alice's. "Now blow that one out," she gestured to the thin candle she still held. Then taking his hand, she led him to the sofa by the fire and pulled him up to sit on her lap.

For a long time the room was silent –not even Harry, sitting by his father, made a peep –as they paid their silent respects.

Eventually, Lily broke the silence, "I remember the first time I met Alice. She was the sixth year prefect during my first year and I was crying because someone had called me a Mudblood and said some nasty things. She pulled me into a warm hug and comforted me till I stopped crying. She was like that, always there for the younger students…"

The others nodded in agreement as Mrs. Longbottom, tears running down her face, murmured, "Frank... he might not have had Alice's compassionate heart, but was a good boy, a brave boy. I was so proud when he called to say he'd been accepted into the Auror corps. It was right as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was beginning his rise and I begged Frank not to join, afraid I would lose him, and he told me, 'Mum, somebody has to stand up to him. I could never live with myself if I turned my back on this chance to do something.' And so I let him because that was who he was and I loved him so much…"

And thus the night past by, each person bringing up their own stories of the couple. The boys fell asleep sometime during the reminiscing, their bedtime long forgotten. But nobody stirred, not until the candles had burnt themselves out. Only then did the guests make their goodbyes and the Potters carry the boys up to bed, before laying themselves down for the night, knowing that the candles would be whole again and ready for next year by morning …

**

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A.N. **I hope that wasn't too sombre for you all. The coming chapters are far more cheerful. I promise. I'd like to thank all my reviewers so far as well as my wonderful beta, Arnel, who was a great help with this chapter in particular. 


	16. Chapter 16

All souls day passed in relative quiet in the Potter household, with only Harry and Neville running around rather than the noisy trio that included the Muggleborn wizard next door. The Creeveys, with the exception of Melg, had actually been away for a bit over a month and so Lily hadn't heard from them in quite some time. It was for this reason and simply because Lily had forgotten that they had been due to return the night before that she was surprised to get a phone call from Carla that afternoon.

So naturally, Lily voiced her surprise to which she responded, "I know, I know. But I'd have felt guilty using my sister-in-laws phone to call long distance. Colin's been asking after the boys. How are they?

"Good, good, they've been surprisingly well-behaved all day. I just hope they aren't plotting something. My husband and his friends are a terrible influence. How was your trip?"

"Wonderful. Colin had a great time with his cousins… Listen, I've been meaning to ask you… What do people do for Bonfire night around here? I know I've been gone for a while… but I haven't heard about any community event so… I thought I'd ask you. You've been in the neighbourhood a lot longer, after all…"

"Bonfire Night? Can't say I've been to a celebration since I was ten…"

"Ten? Why ever not?"

"Umm…Well, I went away to a boarding school where it wasn't really a custom. And… well, I guess I never really got back into the spirit since… James isn't exactly one to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day either, so…"

"Well then, I must insist you join us wherever we end up celebrating.'

"Honestly, there's no need…"

"Nonsense. Imagine! Depriving your poor boys of Bonfire Night, a wonderful and fun celebration, and an important part of their heritage. You should be ashamed of yourself, woman."

"Ashamed of myself? Don't you think you're taking this a little too seriously? You make it sound like I deprived them of their Halloween feast, or cancelled Christmas…"

"Halloween feast?"

Lily cussed under her breath at the slip-up, "Just a family tradition that's recently taken on more meaning... Neville's parents were killed on Halloween. We've held a family memorial after the feast every year since."

"Oh." Carla was suddenly quiet. When she spoke again her voice was gentler, "All the same, I must insist."

"I suppose I could bring it up with James. Don't think he's ever even heard of Guy Fawkes… I'll get back to you …"

True to her word, Lily brought up the subject with James as soon as he came home from work that night. Her earlier assumption that he wouldn't know a thing about the holiday or the history behind it was proven to be well founded.

"Why would Muggles have a holiday to celebrate foxes? Are they sacred animals in some religions?"

"Not Fox Day. Guy Fawkes, he was a Catholic rebel that tried to blow up the Muggle British Parliament in 1605."

"So you honour a terrorist?"

"Not quite. We celebrate the failure of the assassination attempt. Every year we burn effigies of Guy Fawkes in Bonfires. It's a big family event."

"So let me get this straight, 400 years ago some guy tried to blow up all the Muggle Ministers–"

"And the King," cut in Lily.

"And the King, and so now you pretend to burn him every year?"

"Yes."

"I assume he was a Muggle – since I've never heard of him – and so actually died the first time you burnt him… Isn't it a little overkill to keep doing it year after year?"

"I didn't start the tradition. Always thought it was morbid as a child… But, the really hilarious part is that, if you'd ever actually paid attention to Binns in History of Magic, you would remember that third year, interspersed with all his stories of Goblin revolutions, he mentioned Guy Fawkes in part of his lecture on witch burnings… The Muggles have been celebrating an unsuccessful execution for centuries. How's that for a bit of irony?" She paused for a moment to let that titbit of information set in before continuing, "But that's not why I want to go. Carla is right about one thing. It's great fun and I'm sure the boys would have a blast."

James looked reluctant but didn't answer so she continued, "It's not just the bonfire, you know. There'll be activities for the children, hot food, plenty of treats, fireworks…"

His eyes brightened at the word "fireworks". So she emphasized, "_Muggle_ fireworks."

"What's the difference? I doubt they'd notice if I threw a few Zonko's products into the mix… You're right, this _will_ be fun…"

"James!" she admonished. "Of course the Muggles will notice. No pranks! Or I'm calling the whole thing off."

"The fact that they're Muggles is what'll make it fun. They'll be better impressed, after all. Don't worry about the Muggles, dear. No one will be in need of Obliviation, and they won't find themselves undergoing any transformations, I promise." She seemed to relax marginally at his statement but she was expecting his next utterance. "Mind you, that's _all_ I'll promise," he added under his breath, before going off to call Sirius, so that they could make plans for the evening. Before long, Remus had been called in, as well. The trio spent the evening whispering plans in the back corner of the living room.

Lily, for her part, remained standing in the hall, silently chastising herself for bringing the subject up with James and expecting him to react maturely. Eventually, she pulled herself away from her self-admonishments long enough to call Carla to give her the news, before trudging upstairs to tell the boys the news and, of course, send them off to bed. Their bedtime story that night, comprised of the story of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605: "A long time ago, not so far away, in the city of London, our nations' capital–"

"What's a capital, Mum?"

And the rest, as they say, is history…

**

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A.N.** I hope you enjoyed this. Parts of James' and Lily's reactions are a reflection of my own thoughts on the holiday. Sorry there wasn't more of the boys in this chapter. They should make more of an appearance next time. Until then, leave lots of reviews… Thank you to my beta, Arnel, and to all my reviewers. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** The Bonfire Night Song is not mine. It belongs in the public domain.

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"_Remember, remember the fifth of November,  
Gunpowder treason and plot._  
_We see no reason  
Why gunpowder treason  
Should ever be forgot_"

By the time bedtime rolled around on the 4th, Lily was sorely regretting having taught the boys the song. They had asked the meaning of every second word and stumbled over the lyrics the first few times they sang them but as soon as they had got them down pat…

"_Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent  
To blow up king and parliament. _  
_Three score barrels were laid below  
To prove old England's overthrow._"

They'd not stopped for more than a few minutes at a time for two straight days. So on top of worrying about what most likely illegal plans her husband and his friends were plotting she had the children's singing to grate on her nerves. She couldn't wait for it all to be over. Hopefully once Guy Fawkes Day had come and gone they'd finally stop singing.

" _By god's mercy he was catch'd  
With a darkened lantern and burning match.  
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.  
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king._"

It was small consolation that Harry and Neville's singing had spread to Colin and thus Carla was suffering almost as much as she was for her role in suggesting they attend the celebration.

"_And what shall we do with him?  
Burn him!_"

She only managed to get them to stop singing and go to sleep with the threat that they wouldn't get to go if they didn't behave. The threat wasn't enough to allow Lily more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep though. The sun was hardly peaking over the horizon when she awoke to the sensation of being jumped on by two not so little bundles of energy.

"Get up!" Harry spoke first.

"Get up!"

Lily peaked her eyes open, noticed the sky was still mostly dark, and closed them again. "Go away. It's still too early…"

But Neville wasn't about to give up, "You promised that we could go to the park today!"

Apparently, Harry wasn't either as he jumped in, "And that there'd be cotton candy and popcorn, and…"

"Music, and dancing, and shows, and…"

"BONFIRE!"

Lily rolled over and craned her neck to see the clock over James' miraculously still sleeping body. _Too early to be up_, it read. "See, even the clock agrees with me; go back to bed."

Of course, the boys couldn't read yet, and if they could they would have simply said that it was wrong. "Come on, Mum."

"Yes, come on, Lily." Neville added with another bounce, "You need to make us breakfast."

Grumbling she pushed herself up in bed, "Fine, I'm getting up…" She turned to grab her wand off her nightstand, "But if I have to get up, so does he." She pointed it at her husband cancelling the privacy spells that he must have cast the night before without her knowledge. She turned back to the boys, "Go on. Jump on him too."

James, however, wasn't as easily awakened as his wife. Even without the barrier he had erected the boys jumping on him and yelling, "Get up, get up!" in his ears wasn't enough to rouse him. Lily pointed her wand at him once more, "James Francis Potter, if you do not get up this INSTANT you will sorely regret it!"

He rolled over muttering, "Go away…"

The next instant he jumped up in bed, to the feeling of having a bucket of ice-cold water dumped on him. He turned to his wife, "What'd you do that for?"

"Why do you think?" The look on her face was enough to stop any further complaints he might have had. "And since you tried to sneak out of having to wake up early, you can make the boys' breakfast."

"Yes, Ma'm," he replied meekly. "Come on, boys."

Lily walked into the kitchen to find the boys gulping down their breakfast at breakneck speed, "Better slow down, boys, or you'll choke." The statement produced no change in their speed, so she added, "If you choke, we can't go to the park, you know?" Neville dropped his spoon. Harry's hand froze midway between his plate and his mouth. "Much better. Trust me, you won't miss anything if you take your time getting ready.

Even with her assurances though, they were ready (fed, dressed, and washed) in record time.

The kitchen clock still read, _Too early to be up_ when Harry asked, "Are we leaving yet, Mum?"

Lily took a deep breath, and sighed heavily before answering, "No, not yet."

Neville tugged on her jumper, "Why can't we leave now, Lily?"

"We have to wait for Colin and his parents," she explained.

"When will they be here?"

"I don't know, Harry," she sighed one more, "Why don't you ask your father?"

Neville took her up on the offer, "James, when is Colin coming?"

James shot his wife a dirty look over the boys' heads, but answered levelly, "As soon as he's ready, but you have to be patient. Okay, boys?"

"But, why isn't he ready, Dad? We've been ready for ages."

"Colin's still younger than you boys, and Dennis is even smaller. He takes longer to get ready."

"But why?"

"Because… because it takes practice to get ready really fast and Colin hasn't had as much practice as you have."

"But…"

"No buts, we'll just have to wait. You can wait like big boys, right?"

Harry answered, "Yes, Dad," just as Neville responded, "Yes, James. Both boys grinned broadly and promptly started singing:

"_Remember, remember the fifth of November,  
Gunpowder treason and plot.  
We see no reason  
Why gunpowder treason  
Should ever be forgot!_"

That's as far as they got before a frustrated Lily interrupted, "STOP THAT INCESSANT SINGING THIS INSTANT, OR, SO HELP ME MERLIN, WE WILL NOT BE GOING OUT TODAY!"

The boys just stared, dumbly. "Better do as she says," suggested James.

Nobody said a word more until the Creeveys arrived.

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A.N. **I'm REALLY sorry about the wait. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I'd like to thank The Sorting Hat for his help with this chapter a well a my wonderful beta, Arnel. 


	18. Chapter 18

The trip to the park was relatively uneventful. The walk was short and Harry and Neville remained silent throughout as Lily's threat continued to reverberate in their minds. Colin more than made up for it with his running monologue, but since at least he wasn't singing, the adults left him to it.

It wasn't till they arrived at the park that their day met its next stumbling block. As it turns out, the merchants were only just putting up their stalls as the two families arrived. The boys, Colin included, stared in silence for a few moments before a frown of disappointment began to creep onto their faces.

Harry broke the silence, "Where's the bonfire?" Before any of the adults could answer, he'd burst into tears, "We were quiet, just like you said Mum. You didn't have to tell them to put it away…"

James bent down and gathered his son in his arms, then kissed his forehead. "That's right," he said as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe Harry's tears, "you _were_ a good little boy, both of you. But the bonfire isn't till tonight. It isn't anything that you did, they haven't put it up yet."

"But, but what about the music, and the dancing, and… Lily said music all day… She _did_…" Neville insisted, not quite crying, but certainly on the verge of it.

"And the cotton candy and the popcorn too… Did she send _that _away? Mum doesn't like us eating sweets…"

Lily cut her husband off before he could agree it was a crime that she insisted on denying them sweets, "No, of course not boys, it just hasn't started yet, that's all. It _is_ very early still."

"When's it going to start then?" asked Harry.

She looked down at her watch –a Muggle one –then glanced up at the merchants that were setting up their shops and the workers that were unloading the amusement park rides, "Probably not before nine at the earliest."

"How many minutes is that, Lily?" this time it was Colin that asked.

"Around ninety, give or take a few," she replied.

"What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"'Give or take a few.' What does that mean?"

"It means maybe a little bit more, or maybe a little bit less."

"Oh, which does it mean, 'more' or 'less'?"

"I don't know, Colin, it could be one or the other."

"Oh, well how much more? Is ninety more than ten? It must be because I can only count up to ten and ninety isn't between zero and ten and so it must be more, but how much more? Is it a lot?"

"Yes, it is quite a bit more than ten. Why don't you all go play in the playground while we wait?"

At that suggestion, Neville took off running and Colin took off after him. Harry… well Harry attempted to jump out of James' arms, with little success, and so by the time James had set him down and he ran after the other two boys, they'd already reached the see-saw and paired off. In an attempt to stave off the inevitable fight, or the equally likely tears, James offered to push him on the swings.

Unfortunately, given the earlier promise of a fair, the playground proved itself uncharacteristically incapable of holding their attention for very long. It wasn't yet eight thirty when Harry and Neville came running up to where Lily sat talking quietly with Colin's mother.

"We're bored, why hasn't the music started yet? It's been forever…"

"Yeah," agreed Neville, "Are ninety minutes over yet?"

Lily made a show of checking her watch, though she already knew the answer. She hadn't looked up yet when Carla answered, in her place, "Not yet, boys. Why don't you join Colin in the sandbox, he seems to be keeping himself busy."

Neither boy seemed happy with that answer but it was Harry that retorted, "How many more minutes? The sand is boring here. It doesn't stick and it's all one c–"

Lily gave him a pointed look that stopped him mid-complaint about the uniformity of the sand's colour, "Of course it doesn't stick dear; it's not wet like the sand at home."

"The sand at home is–"

Another look cut him off once more, "Sure it is dear, you just don't notice"

Harry pouted at being cut off for a second time, so Neville repeated the question in his stead, "How many more minutes?"

"At least another forty."

"But, it's boring, can't you make them go faster, Lily?"

"I'm afraid not, but I'll tell you what… We can go check out what all the workers are doing. Would you like that?" All she got were two identical grins, vaguely reminiscent of the look on her husband's face when he was up to no good. "You have to promise to behave though, or we're going straight home, understood?" When they both nodded she added, "And no bothering the workers either." She then turned to her companion, "would you like to come? I'm sure Melg and James will be fine by themselves to watch Colin and Dennis."

"No, that's all right. I'd rather sit here for now. Heaven knows they'll be running us ragged before the day is through. No need to get a head start."

"If you're sure then…"

"I am. I'll see you later."

Most of the stalls had been set up when she returned to the fair with the boys in tow, and the merchants were starting to set up their wares. They passed booth after booth of people setting up games and hanging up stuffed toys as prizes. At one booth, there was period clothing on display and the merchant was hanging a sign advertising that for a price people could have themselves photographed in costume with Guy Fawkes. Other booths had treats for sale or souvenir t-shirts, hats, and mugs.

By the time they reached the last booth, more souvenirs, the boys had begun to become restless again, "How much longer?" asked Neville.

"Are forty minutes over yet?"

She looked down at her watch. "Not yet, boys," she replied reigning in her frustration.

It was then that she noticed the person manning the booth they had stopped in front of, "Remus?"

"The one and only, Sirius will be right back."

The boys noticed him then too. As they ran up and gave him a hug apiece, Lily took a closer look at the booth's wares. They were souvenirs, true but rather than stamped simply with the picture of Guy, his name, or some derivative of the Bonfire song, these featured in glittery letters –magical to the eye of anyone looking for signs of magic:

"_Guy Fawkes_  
_We've burnt him **379** times so far._  
_Isn't he dead yet?_"

"What do you think?" asked a voice behind her.

Lily turned to face Sirius Black, "A little tame for the lot of you, what else do you have up your sleeves?"

"Now that would be telling, that would be telling..."

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**AN:** Thought that would be a nice place to end it. Please review. The rest of the day should be coming soon. I'd like to thank my beta, Arnel, for all her help.


	19. Chapter 19

She sent him a glare that would have made a lesser –or perhaps just less experienced –man whither.

"Relax woman, nothing that will get us arrested, I promise"

"And that's supposed to reassure me?"

Sensing that the barely civil discussion was about to escalate into a full-blown argument, Remus untangled himself from the two boys, who still held fast to his legs, and placed himself between Lily and Sirius. "Perhaps if I added my own reassurances? No Muggle-baiting, nothing overtly illegal, just all around entertainment, I swear."

Her attention no longer on Sirius she rounded on the closest available target, "And that is _so_ much better? I notice you didn't deny illegality. "

Remus let out a long sigh, then put on a sheepish grin, "Can't blame a guy for trying. Seriously though, you need to relax, have fun… This is supposed to be a day of family entertainment, after all."

"Fine, but if the lot of you get yourselves arrested, I'm not bailing you out. Even if it means that _you_," she gave the werewolf a pointed look, "are stuck alone in a secure Ministry holding cell three nights from now."

"It won't become an issue," assured Remus evenly. Had she been less focused on her anger, Lily might have noticed that he was no longer looking directly at her; his head was bowed to hide the hurt look on his face.

While Remus might have been inclined to let the issue rest, Sirius protested on his behalf, "Now, Lily, that's a little extreme, even for you, Mrs. Goody-Two-Shoes. Moony had no larger part in planning our little surprise than James and I. You have _no_ right to take it out on him, especially not by playing off _that._"

The glare that Sirius sent her, made his feelings on the issue clear but it was the look on Remus' face that caused Lily's anger to deflate. She turned to him, "I'm sorry, Remus. I don't know what came over me. That was completely out of line and an empty threat. I would never leave you to transform in such a deplorable place, no matter how angry I might be. My conscience would never let me."

Remus looked up and extended his hand, "Apology accepted."

The instant those words were uttered, Sirius' demeanour changed completely and his goofy smile returned. "You, my dear Lily, are far too tense and stressed out. What you need is a good laugh. Here, take a t-shirt; they have a mild cheering charm on them." She tried to protest that last statement but Sirius silenced her by pulling one down over her head, "Now, none of that. It's a mild one; the Muggles won't even notice and it'll wear out in a couple of days, anyways."

He then turned to the two boys who had hung back with twin looks of confusion on their faces during the whole argument, "Here, one for each of you, too," and waved off Lily's protests, "On the house. They were made in your house, after all, and it's good advertising," the last bit was added in a conspiratorial whisper.

The cheering charm must have been working because the next time she opened her mouth it wasn't to complain, "How much are you charging for these anyway? Do either of you even know how to use Muggle money?"

Sirius clapped her on the back, "That, my dear, is what we have you for."

"But the boys…"

"I shall take my godson and his frie –bro –Neville off your hands and entertain them for the day while you and Remus spread cheer with our wares. "

"But…" she never did complete her objection because he and the boys were already gone. How he managed to move so fast short of Apparating –which he hadn't done –is a Marauder trade secret.

Remus tried to reassure her, "Don't worry, Lily. I'm sure they'll be fine and I've got some mediocre Muggle money skills so you needn't be trapped back here all day."

Lily did end up spending most of the day selling the souvenirs. Much as she hated to admit that Sirius might be right about anything, she really did need the break from the boys. The last couple of days had left her nerves completely frayed. She was still there when Carla came by, with Colin in tow and Dennis in his pram, and had to endure Colin's attempts to comprehend the magnitude of the number 379.

All in all, though, the day was pleasantly spent. Of course, she would have probably better enjoyed it better if she hadn't spent most of it waiting for the other shoe to drop. The surprise that Remus had been hinting about all day didn't come till fairly late, but when it came during the re-enactment of the burning of Guy Fawkes she wasn't disappointed.

Just as the effigy was being lifted towards the platform where it would be burned, it began to struggle as though it were alive. It's pleas, "Not again! Please not again! I promise, I'll never try to blow up parliament again; just don't put me in another fire. Please!" as it was tied to the stake brought the crowd to laughter –well most of it. Those that had been part of the event organizing committee and knew for a fact that they hadn't invested in a high-tech talking and moving effigy wore looks of confusion instead.

The effigy's pleas continued long after the fire had been lit, turning into screams as the fire continued to burn, and eventually dying out.

The next morning when city workers set upon the task of cleaning up the ashes that remained of the bonfire, they found the effigy buried therein, completely unharmed.

They didn't tell anyone. Who would have believed them?

Likewise, those involved in the event's organizing, who had been baffled by much of the evening's events, never mentioned it to anyone, even amongst themselves. Rather, they expressed a sense of satisfaction that the day had been such a success to all who asked. The acquiescence draught that had been slipped into their drinks, over the course of the evening, may have had something to do with it.

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**A/N**: Well, there you have it. I have finally finished Guy Fawkes Day. It certainly took long enough. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Let me know (That means review). I would like to thank my wonderful beta Arnel, as well as Mistri Tonks' Admirer, my sole reviewer for chapter 18. 


	20. Chapter 20

By some miracle, nobody in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement or the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office ever found out about the Maurauders' Bonfire Night stunt. Or if they did –James was sure he'd seen Arthur Weasley wink at him in the hall at work –nobody ever called them on it. So, as the days grew shorter and colder, life continued as per usual in the Potter household. That is to say, in its typically chaotic manner.

Perhaps the only atypical thing that happened that November was that Lily got to sleep in, every day. In fact, the next time she was woken by the boys jumping on her wasn't till early December. James had already left for work, but she had remained in bed, enjoying the warmth as one can only truly do on a cold day such as that. Slowly, but surely, she'd drifted back to sleep.

She was dreaming of sunbathing on a tropical island, with the children nowhere in sight. So, when the boys jumped on her and started chanting, "It's snowing! It's snowing! Mummy/Lily is snoring. She went to bed and bumped her head and went to bed, and won't get up though it's morning," her main complaint was with their unorthodox manner of waking her, their choice of lyrics and, most importantly, the fact that they were interrupting her rather pleasant dream.

Despite her strong will to remain in her sunny paradise, the boys were rather insistent and managed to draw her back to cold and dreary England where, just outside her window, soft snowflakes had begun to fall. There wasn't much yet, and most of it wasn't staying on the ground, certainly not enough to cover the mud left behind by the last rainfall.

Nevertheless, it was enough to get the boys all excited. It was all she could do to insist that they eat, wash, and dress warmly, before allowing them to venture outside, knowing as she did that they'd be back by day's end coated in mud rather than simply snow-drenched.

She didn't miss her guess. The "snowballs" that they insisted on throwing at each other –and then later at Colin when he was permitted to join them –were more mud than anything else and there was certainly no snow involved in what they termed "snow angels" either. Rather, as far as Lily was concerned, their making was just another excuse for rolling around in the mud, a hobby of the boys that she had yet to comprehend.

So really, although she hated what it symbolized, Lily was quite relieved when the next snowfall was a more substantial one. It fell on a Saturday, which meant James was home so at least she didn't have to deal with the boys alone.

The morning started off well enough –being jumped on as a wake-up call notwithstanding –but for Lily, the day started to go downhill almost the minute they stepped outside into the snow. No sooner than she had closed the door behind her did she find herself victim to a snowball in the face.

It was the first of many. Most of them came her ay from James, ho had better aim and magic on his side but Harry and Neville contributed their fair share –though with them there was always the question as to how much of their success was the result of good aim, as opposed to accidental magic. It seemed that the three of them were determined to focus their attention on her rather than on each other. She gave as good as she got and protected herself as well as she could but so many snowballs had made their mark on her face that Lily as quite relieved when a halt was called to the snowball fight.

Jams, Harry, and Neville turned their attention instead to the relatively tame task of building a large snowman. As she watched them roll a snowball around the yard –James doing most of the work, and by magic at that, though the boys did try to help –to form the base of the snowman, she finally allowed herself to relax. So uncharacteristically quite was it that she may have even started to doze off, despite the cold.

At any rate, she as sufficiently distracted to be startled hen James called out her name "Hey Lily!" She glanced up at her husband, almost certain that the exclamation precluded another snowball in the face. She was surprised when it was followed by a question instead, "What was that Muggle song again, the one about the snowman?"

"You mean, 'Frosty the Snowman'?"

"That's the one… How did it go again? He had a corncob pipe, a button nose, eyes of coal, anything else?"

"The old silk hat… why does it matter?" Had she been paying a little more attention to what her husband was up to, she wouldn't have needed to ask the question. She would have noticed that as he listed each item off, he transfigured a snowball into said item. As it was, she was rather taken by surprise when the snowman that James had been working on suddenly sprang to life and started singing, "Frosty the Snowman…"

Before he had finished the first verse, the boys had joined in their off key singing adding to the hilarity of the scene. Lily was left standing there, her mouth gaping in shock as the snowman played out the entire song –thankfully without leaving the yard. She didn't want to imagine the scene if "Frosty" had encountered an actual traffic cop.

Finally the song ended, the dancing stopped abruptly, and the animated snowman underwent a sudden change in direction –straight towards the still gaping Lily and it showed no sign of slowing. Deciding that the three gigantic animated balls of snow currently hurtling towards her were the worst of the snowballs James had yet to throw at her that day, she turned made the decision to turn tail and run.

When the snowman showed no sign of ceasing it's chase after five laps of the yard, Lily finally lost her patience –Harry and Neville's giggling hadn't helped any –and exclaimed, "JAMES FRANCIS POTTER, if you don't cease that this instant, you are sleeping on the couch tonight!"

Suffice it to say that that was the end of that. He didn't have to sleep on the couch. Though she did leave the task of getting the boys dried and warmed up to James to do alone, as punishment. Overall, at the end of the day, Lily decided that having her husband around for the first substantial snowfall of the season was more a nuisance than help. At least when the boys did magic it was mostly accidental…

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**A/N:** I thank you all for your patience. This was an interesting chapter to write, considering the current weather where I live, but I'm quite happy with the results. Let me know what _you_ think. 


	21. Chapter 21

As the holiday season approached, the Potter household took on a festive air. Lily hung holly and pine up as decoration, while James insisted on a special addition of his own. Above the doorway to the master bedroom, he hung a piece of mistletoe, charmed to summon his wife to him, or him to her -while avoiding collision with any obstacles -each time one of them passed under it, provided he or she was in the house, of course. He proclaimed it as the only way he could ensure he got as many kisses from his lovely wife, as the holiday season mandated. The fact that he made this argument after summoning her, covered in soap, from the shower, didn't help his case any, though what came next might have. She stopped objecting, at any rate.

One day, midway through December, with James at work and the boys safely delivered next-door for the afternoon, Lily got out her address book and settled down to the yearly task of sending out holiday greetings to family and friends, though mostly to the latter.

She made two piles. The cards in the first pile, to be delivered by owl post, contained cards with moving pictures, addressed mostly to Hogwarts friends, as well as to friends she had made since graduation. The second pile was smaller, addressed almost entirely to those Muggle friends from her pre-Hogwarts days that she still remained in touch with.

As she reached the last of the Muggle cards, she faltered momentarily before finally signing it and slipping it into the last of the little red envelopes that she'd taken out. Sealing the envelope, she addressed it and affixed a postage stamp, before adding it reluctantly to the smaller pile, to be delivered by Muggle post.

Lily wasn't really surprised when, three days later, the Muggle postman handed her a little red envelope addressed to one Petunia Dursley, of Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, the words "Return to Sender" written clearly in black marker across the front. She'd been expecting it, really. Every piece of correspondence that she'd sent her sister, in the past six years, had been returned similarly. Somehow, it wasn't enough for her to ignore the missives; she insisted on throwing them back in Lily's face, so that there was no doubt of the rejection.

Expected though it was, the rejection still hurt. She'd yet to plaster a smile back on her face when she ran into the boys in the hallway. Rather, they ran into her, literally. They had the good sense to look contrite about it, as they stared down at their toes, awaiting the expected lecture about the dangers of running in the halls.

When it didn't come, Neville chanced a look up, and noticed that the expression on Lily's face was not that of exasperation that typically presented itself when she caught them doing something they knew they weren't supposed to do. "Why are you sad, Lily?"

Now, Harry looked up too, "Are you hurt, Mum?"

She tried unsuccessfully to smile. "No, I'm not hurt. Though you know you shouldn't be running in the halls."

She would have preferred to leave it at that but Neville was persistent. "So, why are you sad?

"It's nothing for you to worry yourself about. Now go on back to your games before I change my mind about not punishing you for running in the house."

They made no move to leave. "But, Mum, you said that if we're sad or angry about something we should talk about it cause if we keep it inside we'll explode. I don't want you to explode."

"I'm quite sure I never told you that you'd explode, for any reason."

"James did," offered Neville. "And you said that when we're sad we should talk about it, cause it'll make us feel better. You did."

"You're right, I did, didn't I? You're not going to leave till I tell you, are you?" When both boys proceeded to shake their head rather energetically, she suggested, "Why don't we go sit down and I'll tell you all about it?"

One they'd settled down, she continued, "I suppose the reason I'm sad I because someone I care about very much doesn't care about me the same way. My sister sent back a card I sent her, without opening it."

"Well, she's a big meanie!" exclaimed, Neville, "I'll always answer Harry's letters, and he isn't even my real brother."

He had the right idea, so, Lily felt it wise to ignore the glare that Harry sent Neville's way in response to the latter part of his comment. "I know Neville, and that's part of what makes you so special. But, you mustn't be too harsh on Petunia. She has her reasons for acting as she does; she misses our Mum and Dad -Harry's grandparents- very much, and she blames me for their being gone, because I'm a witch."

"But it's not your fault, is it?" asked Neville

"You didn't make them go away, did you?" added Harry.

"No, of course not. We were never very close as children, not like you and Harry. She's hurting and needs someone to blame; she picked me."

For a long while, the boys appeared to be contemplating that statement and the idea that grown-ups could make mistakes too. Finally, Neville asked, "Are they gone to the same place as my Mum and Dad?"

"Yes, Neville, they are."

"Then there's no reason to be sad, cause Gran says everyone's happy there, and one day we'll all be together again, right?"

She graced him with a small smile, "That's right, Neville. That's right. Don't ever forget that… Now, that's enough of this sad talk. I'll be fine, boys. Why don't you go back to your game?" When they once again made no move to leave she suggested, "Or, if you like, we could bake some gingerbread cookies. I might even let you eat a few before James gets home and they disappear…"

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****A.N:** And thus ends 1984. Let me know what you think (hint: review) … I'd like to thank my beta Arnel, and all my faithful reviewers. 


	22. Chapter 22

Christmas passed by uneventfully, and soon the New Year was upon them. The Potters had planned for a meal with family and friends –nothing quite as big as their Christmas feast –which would include quiet conversation as they waited for the clock to strike midnight so that they could "toast" the New Year in good company.

What they hadn't counted on -but should have -was that the boys, knowing the reason the grown-ups were all staying up till midnight, would refuse to go to bed. Even the promise to wake them right before midnight, so that they could take part in the most important part of the evening, was not enough to convince them to change their mind. Finally, despite Augusta's protests, Lily reluctantly agreed to allow them to sit up with the grownups; if they fell asleep the adults would wake them at midnight, provided they bathe and change into their pyjamas first.

As expected, though they tried their hardest to keep their eyes open, Harry and Neville both drifted off to sleep long before midnight. Lily levitated them both to bed, not trusting James to manage it without waking them, though she needn't have worried. Even Sirius' drunken singing wasn't enough to wake them. She didn't trust him to wake them at 11:50 either, and instead left him to prepare the bubbly in her absence, reminding him, "Non-alcoholic for me too, dear," as she headed up the stairs. As an afterthought she added, "and for Sirius."

Soon she returned with two yawning four-year-olds in tow. And thus they toasted to the New Year -with non-alcoholic bubbly in plastic glasses for the boys -"May the year ahead be full of health and happiness for our growing circle of family and friends, and _free_ of dark lords." The last bit was added by Sirius, not that anyone objected.

For the most part, the year progressed as they had toasted. Aside from the occasional cold they were all healthy, and apart from the rare tear or moment of melancholy they were all happy. The children were certainly growing, and if there were any lurking dark lords, they didn't make themselves known.

Soon the winter's snows had melted, April's showers had fallen, and May's flowers were beginning to show themselves. And then May 12th rolled around -a double celebration. In addition to it being Lily's birthday, it was also Mother's Day that year and somehow Harry and Neville had gotten it into their head that they were going to treat Lily to breakfast in bed… They neglected to tell James.

They snuck out of bed shortly after dawn and made their way to the kitchen where signs of the Marauders' Saturday Night poker game were still evident; dirty glasses and dishes -the breakable kind which would normally be stored in charmed cupboards, away from the youngsters' prying hands -still lay about and the silencing charms, erected to keep from waking the boys, were still up.

Neville made his way over to the oven, dragging a chair behind him, while Harry made his way over to the fridge, also dragging a chair, which he used to reach the eggs on the top shelf. He managed to break half of them as he lost his balance getting down from the chair. While he attempted to clean up the mess with tissue (which only served to smear egg all over the floor), Neville reached the conclusion that he couldn't turn the stove on. This was due to the fact that it was charmed that way, but since they didn't know that, Harry insisted on giving it an equally unsuccessful try himself.

And so, unable to start the stove, they gave up on the idea of eggs and bacon and instead turned their attention to preparing cereal and toast. Unfortunately, the cupboards containing clean dishes were all magically sealed shut so while Neville attempted to retrieve the cereal from the cupboard above the sink -by climbing onto the counter -Harry grabbed the empty bowl of chips off the table, emptied the crumbs into the trash and brought it over to the sink to rinse. He used the same chair Neville had used to get onto the counter so as to reach the sink, but still managed to splash water all over the counter.

It was inevitable that Neville then slipped on his way down and spilled most of the cereal. What was left they poured into the bowl. Harry then returned to the fridge for some milk. This time, he made it down from the chair without spilling anything. They even managed to get _most_ of what they poured into the bowl.

The problem came when they tried to pour the milk into a glass that Harry had rinsed from its previous night's use. The first attempt resulted in the glass tipping over and shattering onto the floor. They stayed away from the broken glass. The second attempt, with a new glass, was more successful, but still resulted in more milk on the table than in the glass.

Making the "toast" was easily the simplest part of the meal. Since the toaster wouldn't work for the same reason they couldn't get the stove to turn on they made do with simply plopping a few slices of bread on a plate that had previously contained a few cookie crumbs and smearing butter on them -they had to use their hands since the knives were locked away. They had wanted to put jam on the "toast" as well but their hands were so slippery from the butter that the jar slipped right to the floor and shattered, when they tried to remove it from the fridge.

Giving up on creating anything more complicated, they proceeded to deliver their gift. Neville held the large bowl of cereal, while Harry balanced the glass of milk and plate of toast. One piece of "toast" never made it to the stairs. Most of the milk and cereal was lost between the kitchen and the Master bedroom. Needless to say that while pleased with the gesture, Lily was not at all happy with the results. Thankfully, James had enough sense to volunteer to clean up the mess.**  
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**A.N.**: There you have it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Please review. I'd like to thank Mistri Tonks' Admirer for his help brainstorming this chapter and for pre-betaing. Thanks, as well, to my beta Arnel. 


	23. Chapter 23

Life went on in the Potter household and soon the Mother's Day fiasco was well behind them. Instead, disaster of another type was brewing. More specifically, Lily was planning to inform Augusta of her and James' decision to register Harry at the local primary school and to request permission to do the same for Neville. She wasn't expecting things to go well.

They didn't. To say Augusta was reluctant to grant such permission would be an understatement of epic proportions. Fortunately, Lily had had the foresight to send the boys next door and cast a Silencing Charm to prevent sound from escaping the house. Thus, they were spared having to hear the argument.

It had started off civilly enough, with Lily saying, "James and have I have decided to send Harry to a Muggle primary school. We were wondering if you'd consider sending Neville as well."

"Absolutely not! Why can't you just have them home-schooled? My son was, as was I before him, and my parents before me. We all turned out fine. I'm willing to pay for a tutor for both boys, if that's the issue."

"It isn't, but the boys need a chance to socialize with other children their own age. So far, they have only themselves and Colin. What's going to happen when they go to Hogwarts?"

"But, Muggles?"

"It would be ideal, no? The Muggles don't know who he is. I'd also like Harry to know something of his Muggle roots. Besides, being able to blend in with Muggles is a good skill to have."

"I disagree. Neville is safer in the house. That's what's important."

"How can you ignore the importance of…"

The argument continued in that vein for quite some time. The gist of it being that Lily was adamant that her son would attend primary school for the social and life skills it would provide and refused to accept Augusta's offer to finance home-schooling for the boys. She was also rather insistent that Neville go to school with Harry. Augusta, on the other hand, stoically refused to consider allowing her grandson to be educated outside the home. In fact, by the time James got home from work, the argument had become so heated that he was only able to get a word in edgewise by silencing them both with a wave of his wand.

Making sure they were both unarmed and not going anywhere, he addressed Augusta, "Neville is like a son to both Lily and me and we, like you, want what's best for him. However, you're right, in that his schooling is your choice, to do as you choose. But, Lily's right too. Harry is our son, and our decision to have him attend Muggle primary school is non-negotiable. You're welcome to make your own arrangements for your grandson, provided you're willing to deal with the inevitable problems that will crop up when Harry starts to make friendships that he can have no part in."

Turning to Lily, he added, "I assume you left the boys next door. I'm going to go get them. I expect you both to be calm and act civilized by the time I get back."

They were calmer, when he returned, but still not sufficiently so that the boys couldn't tell that the two women had been arguing. The fact that Augusta left almost immediately, rather than staying for dinner, only served to drive the point home. As Augusta hugged the boys goodbye, before stepping into the fireplace, James turned to his wife and asked, "You okay, dear? You know you shouldn't be getting yourself worked up like this." She just glared at him. He let the subject drop.

On the other hand, the boys refused to let the subject drop that had caught their interest (what Lily and Augusta had fought about), despite Lily's flat out refusal to tell them. She was holding out in hope that Augusta would change her mind and she wouldn't have to tell them that Harry would be starting school in September, but Neville couldn't go with him. She could already picture the look on the older boy's face as she tried to explain; she could visualize the strength and confidence that had been slowly growing in him --since the night he'd witnessed his parents' death --shattering in an instant… Her reluctance was understandable.

Fortunately, she was spared that particular agony. Augusta returned two days later and reported willingness to send Neville to school with Harry, if it wasn't too late. She had her conditions, of course: the Fidelius Charm would stay up, the boys were not, under any circumstances, to bring any classmates home, and the school authorities were to be informed that Neville was at risk of abduction and be given a list of authorized persons who were allowed to pick him up from school. She left the explanation for the last condition up to Lily since she knew more about Muggles and could probably come up with something more believable.

It took a while for the details to be worked out; documents supporting the existence of a nasty custody battle involving an abduction risk had to be fabricated. Finally, a week after the original argument, Lily sat the boys down to inform them that they'd be starting school in a few months and to lay down the rules. There was to be no talking about magic, no doing magic, no talking about being able to talk to snakes, no talking to snakes, no inviting friends over, no going over to the homes of classmates, no talking to strange adults, no talking about Neville's scar, or Voldemort or the Fidelius, or their living arrangements, or…

The first morning of school, Lily dropped the boys off at school, reminding them as she did of the most important rule, "Now remember boys, it's a Muggle school -"

Or tried to, seeing as Harry cut her off, "Yeah, yeah, no magic, Mum, we got it."

"It's not like we can control it anyways," added Neville.

"Can we go now, Mum?"

"Not just yet, boys. I have something to discuss with your teacher, so I'm coming with you today."

Harry frowned. "We're not babies. We can go by ourselves."

"And you will, tomorrow. Today, I'm coming with you. Come along."

So, Lily escorted them to class and reinforced Augusta's rules with the teacher. She kissed both boys one last time and told them to be good. And then she was gone.

Much to her chagrin, however, before the week was up, they'd broken just about every rule on the list…

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**A.N.** Well there you have it. This chapter and the next few that follow have been a long time in the making. Please review. I'd like to thank all my reviewers for their support as well as my pre-beta Mistri Tonks' Admirer, and my beta Arnel. 


	24. Chapter 24

I would like to dedicate this chapter to Mayhem Managed who predicted this chapter

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It all started during morning recess the first day of school, when the children were out playing in the schoolyard. Neville and Harry were in the middle of a game of dodge ball with some of the other boys in their class when suddenly the yard went totally still. The ball they had been playing with hung in mid-air.

Harry turned to his brother and said, "Neville!"

In response the other boy threw his arms up in exasperation, "Wasn't me! Bet you just stopped everything cause my team was winning!"

"Were not! Did not!"

"'Course you did, 'cause it wasn't me, and we're the only wizards in the whole school. Lily said so. I'm going to tell her you did magic at school."

"Don't you dare! You know we're not supposed to upset her because of–"

"Well, you started it!"

While the boys engaged in their argument, the source of the problem, a tiny bushy-haired girl with big front teeth, finally got over the shock of seeing the playground and, more specifically, the bullies who had been picking on her, freeze in place and began to scream.

The sound stopped the boys mid-argument, and they turned and ran towards it – not without a final glare at one another. Harry reached her first, and led her out of the circle of bullies, "Shhhh… just calm down."

"Stop yelling or someone might come…then how are we going to explain the entire playground being frozen?" added Neville

Slowly her yells quieted to whimpers. Harry offered her his hand, "Here, that's it, calm down…"

"It happens to the best of us. We all lose control sometimes, why Harry was just accu…"

Harry shot him a glare that shut him up, "You're not helping," turning back to the girl he said, "Now we need you to reverse the spell. Do you think you can do that?"

"Bb...bu…bu…but…"

"You're the one that cast it. You have to reverse it," Neville offered, "Just try to think of everything starting up again."

"You can do it."

And she did. Unfortunately, the children forgot to take into account what had been going on before she froze things in the first place. Across the playground, the classmates that the boys had been playing with looked around in confusion. A few feet away, the bullies that had been mocking the girl registered first confusion, then anger that their quarry was no longer in the circle they had formed around her. The leader of the group, a burly ten-year-old, turned on the trio, "You, freak, come back here and get what's coming to you!"

Harry and Neville, in an instinctive decision to protect their new friend, stepped in front of her, shielding her with their bodies. However, Nick Forte, the bully who'd been picking on those smaller than him all his life, wasn't about to let two five-year-olds keep him from his chosen prey and began to advance towards them. Luckily for the two wizards and the witch they were protecting, the boys' playmates, having figured out where they'd disappeared to were on their way to join them. Nick might not have qualms about beating up three five-year-olds, but two dozen at once was a bit out of his league. He didn't stick around to find out what they wanted. It was probably best that he didn't since they had no interest in engaging the bully in a fight; they were only on their way to ask Harry and Neville to come back and finish the game.

Even at the tender age of five they knew that a scared and confused Muggleborn witch was a more pressing matter that a game of dodge ball. They stayed with her.

As soon as the rest of the boys had left, the little girl, still clinging to Harry's hand, turned to Neville and said in a manner that you wouldn't expect from a girl her age, "You said that it was normal for me to lose control, that you had done so yourself, would you kindly explain what you meant by that?"

The boys were a little taken aback by her phrasing. "Well you see… it's your magic, you just lost control of your magic…" Neville offered.

While that had been enough of an answer for Neville, the same could not be said for their new acquaintance. She scoffed – yes, scoffed – and countered, "Magic? Magic exists only in the world of make-believe." Evidently, she didn't believe in magic, despite the evidence before her. After all, there were no monsters under her bed, no boogieman, and no tooth fairies; her parents had told her so. Fairy tales didn't come true, and she couldn't be a princess when she grew up. They had told her that as well. Disbelief in all things magic had followed naturally.

Harry attempted to pick up where his brother had left off, "I know Muggles don't know about magic, because they aren't magic but magic is real…you did magic…"

"Muggles?"

"People that aren't witches or wizards, like your parents… You're a witch, Neville and I are wizards," he continued.

"And you could freeze the playground too?"

"Well, I've never frozen a playground before…" replied Neville.

"Me, neither," added Harry but seeing her frown he quickly added, "But I did freeze Dad once… and Neville freezes people all the time…he likes to cheat at tag…"

"Do not!"

"Yes, you do!"

"I don't do it on purpose, it just happens."

"Sure it does…"

"Does too! Lily says it's wild magic, that it'll go away when we grow up."

"Doesn't mean you don't cheat!"

"BOYS!" the witch demanded their attention, dropping her formal stance for the first time since she'd stopped screaming. Upon getting it, however, she once again became prim. "I'm Hermione Granger, pleased to make your acquaintance." She offered them her hand.

"Neville Longbottom," the elder replied awkwardly, attempting to give her five, "and this prat is my brother…"

"Harry Potter," the boy in question cut him off, "and don't listen to a thing he says about me."

"If you're brothers, why do you have different names?"

"Cause he's adopted…"

She looked at Neville for confirmation, not sure if she should believe Harry's story. Her cousin Amy was always saying that her little sister Jane was adopted, but her aunt and uncle had told her it wasn't true, just something siblings said about each other. So when Neville responded, "Well, sort of, anyways…"

"He lives with us, but his Gran won't Mum and Dad adopt him…"

"She doesn't want to let me go… I'm all she has left," supplied Neville.

"She is really strict. But she's nice. She lets me call her Gran, since I don't have a Gran of my own."

"What happened to your real parents?" Hermione asked, without really meaning to be rude.

"They were killed by an evil wizard…" Neville answered, but left it at that.

"That's where he got his scar," offered Harry.

"Harry!" While the pair argued once again, Hermione searched his body for a scar. She finally found the lightning bolt scar hidden beneath his fringe, but by then they were deep into an argument and she didn't interrupt.

"Well, it's true…"

"But we're not supposed to talk about that."

"We also aren't supposed to talk about magic, and you just told her all about it."

"Did not! You told her about us being wizards."

"You started it!"

"Did not!"

"Yes, you did!"

The ringing of the school bell, calling them back to class, interrupted the argument. And so it was that a new friendship began.

Unfortunately, while the two wizards may have been quick to befriend the lonely witch, no one else seemed to want to.

The bullies left her alone, though certainly not out of fear of reprisal, seeing as when not accompanied by Harry or Neville, she was usually by herself. No, the more likely explanation was that Nick had spread the word of her mysterious evasion and they were all spooked. Within a couple of weeks the story had twisted so completely that… Well, let's just say the story of her single-handedly knocking out two dozen bullies in the blink of an eye or the one of her conjuring an army of ninja body guards was enough to frighten off any potential bullies and give her, Neville, and Harry a good laugh. Actually, Neville and Harry did most of the laughing. She simply inquired as to the feasibility of each story given what they knew about magic. Her use of the word "feasible" simply set off the laughter all over again.

Still, even without the bully problem, she still had to cope with the teasing of her classmates and her lack of any friends other than the two wizards. Whenever the boys were invited to join in a game with their classmates, she was always left out. Sometimes they'd decline in favour of hanging out with her, and talking about magic. Everyone likes being the centre of attention once in a while and she seemed fascinated by everything they had to say: tales of Invisibility Cloaks, enchanted alarm clocks, mirrors that actually talked to you, moving photographs, talking portraits – basically things that she had given up on as being nothing but make-believe.

The only problem with these discussions is that they more often than not ended in her asking more questions about how magic worked than either of the two young wizards could possibly know. So sometimes they chose to join the games and she'd be left watching in the sidelines.

Now Hermione was a smart girl – even at five – and she knew enough to know that she was being ostracized – and, yes, she did know what the word meant. In fact, one day, a week into the school year, she turned to her two friends and asked, "Why don't any of the other kids like me? I feel that I'm being ostracized."

Now Harry's first response was to ask her what 'ostracized' meant but Neville, who incidentally didn't know the meaning of the word either, cut him off with the reply, "'Cause you're a know-it-all teacher's pet!"

It was probably not the best thing to say, judging by the reaction it garnered: Hermione burst into tears and Harry rounded on him quite violently and yelled, "Neville!"

But, having grown accustomed to his brother's temper, Neville was hardly about to be frightened by it. Despite being Hermione's friend, he wasn't immune to the view that she was a little too much of a know-it-all. "Well it's true, every time the teacher asks a question herhand is up in the air waving like the flag. Why do you always raise your hand, like that, 'Mione?"

Her response, "Because I know the answer…" was barely audible above her sniffles.

"Well, I know the answers too sometimes, but the teacher never calls on me because your hand is always up there waving about."

Hermione just continued to sniffle so Harry suggested, "Maybe if you give other people a chance before raising your hand… people might like you a little better." She nodded reluctantly.

Harry turned back to his brother. "I think you should say sorry."

"Sorry," the response was a bare mummer.

"Sorry for what?"

"You sound like Lily…" Neville responded. Harry just continued to frown at him with his piercing green eyes, so like his mother's. Finally, swallowing his pride, Neville amended, "I'm sorry for calling you a know-it-all teacher's pet."

"And?"

"…and I'm sorry I yelled at you."

The young girl stifled her sobs and replied primly, "Your apology is accepted."

"See, most kids would have just said…"

"You might also try talking less like a grown up and start using words we can understand…" Harry interrupted and that was the end of that. The dispute was forgotten and the trio went back to being friends.

Hermione, true to her word, attempted to be less of a know-it-all and, while she wasn't exactly drowning in offers of friendship, as time went by, she was no longer shunned so much, until eventually the sneers stopped completely and the children moved on to a new target.

The first time she was included in an invitation to play mixed dodge ball, in mid-September, she thought she might be imagining it. She almost said 'no,' wanting to avoid the embarrassment of being exposed as a bad player. But a nudge from the boys brought out her courage and she actually enjoyed herself and found out she wasn't all that bad at it.

After the game, Harry confided in her, "If you thought that was fun wait till you learn to play Quidditch. Now that's wicked…"

Neville cut him off. "Harry! Stop being a snoot." Turning to Hermione, he added, "We've never actually been allowed to play. Lily won't even let us ride a real broomstick…"

"You actually ride brooms? Like in the movies? Wizards too? I thought it was only witches… What's Quidditch? What do you mean real brooms? Do you have to imagine now? Or do you ride those little plastic ones they sell at the toy store? What colour is your toy broom? Do all brooms fly? Would it work if I went home and tried with the kitchen broom?" and so started the endless string of questions, such that by the time she stopped for a breath, the boys had already forgotten what the first one had been. Luckily they were saved from having to bluff their way through another of Hermione's drillings by the bell…

The subject came up again after lunch, but by then she had calmed down somewhat from spending time in class, and her questions came out one at a time. Still, half the questions were of the type that even full-grown wizards would have been hard-pressed to come up with an acceptable answer. But by then they were used to it.

However, being used to Hermione's questions didn't mean that they didn't sometimes get frustrated with her. The problem was compounded by the time she got around to asking the same question for the tenth time. Honestly, how was a pair of five-year-old wizards supposed to know why some children were magical and others weren't? Asking, "Why isn't my cousin a witch like me if our parents are twins and we even look alike?" didn't make the question any easier to answer.

So naturally, the eleventh time she brought up the subject – in a span of merely two weeks –Harry lost his temper. "I don't know!"

A pleading glance in Neville's direction provided her with no better answer to her question. "Don't look at me like that, I don't know either."

But Hermione was nothing if not persistent and so she decided to come up with a different solution to her problem. After all, she really did want to know the answer to the question –almost as much as she had wanted to know where babies came from before she had got her parents to tell her. How did she deal with the dilemma? She invited herself over. That's right, she said quite clearly, "Well, then, I guess I'll just have to come home with you after school and ask your mother. I'm sure she'll know."

The reaction she got from her friends was certainly not what she expected. From the look they exchanged, it was obvious that they were silently arguing as to who would get the honour of explaining to her that that wouldn't be possible. She took it out of their hands. "What, why can't I come to your house? Are you hiding criminals in your cellar?"

Neville gave an uncomfortable shrug and Harry answered, "Cause of the Secret…"

"What secret, magic? But I know about that… we talk about magic all the time. I know all about your funny clock and walking cloak hanger, and fireplace that people pop their head out of and…"

"No, not magic, Neville…"

"But Neville's not a secret, silly. He's right here." By now the boy in question was staring at his feet and looked uncomfortable enough to use accidental magic to escape the conversation.

In a whisper he cut in, "I'm not a secret, but where I live is…"

"'Cause he's famous," offered Harry.

The comment warranted a beet-red blush from Neville and an indignant response from Hermione, "He's not famous, silly."

Harry giggled, "Not for Muggles, they don't even know about You-Know-Who, but Mum says every witch and wizard knows about Neville, 'cause of what happened when his parents died."

"You-Know-Who? What happened?"

Harry replied, "He was a really bad wizard, he gave Neville his scar," just as Neville responded, "We're not supposed to talk about it…"

Deciding that she wasn't going to get anything out of them the way the conversation was going, she tried a different approach, "Fine, but why can't I come over? I promise I won't tell. Besides, if he's not famous for Muggles, no one I would tell would care either way…"

"'Cause of the Secret."

"But I just said…"

"No, no you don't understand…" Harry cut in.

"The Secret is a spell…"

"So that no one can see him at home unless the Secret-Keeper tells them he lives there"

"Huh? You mean he disappears? But what if someone follows him home? Then they'll know where he lives…"

"It's the magic. They wouldn't be able to see him at home and as soon as they leave they won't remember where the house is anymore unless the Secret-Keeper tells them…"

"So? We'll just ask the Secret-Keeper to tell me then. Who is he? Could he come by tomorrow? Or I could go home with you anyways. I mean, it would be kind of funny not to be able to see Neville. But then I can talk to your mum and she can answer my question, and…"

"We're not allowed to bring anyone home. 'Sides, Gran doesn't want anyone else to know. She didn't even want to tell Colin."

"Colin?"

"He's our neighbour," offered Harry.

"And he thought I was Harry's imaginary friend."

"But Mum made her change her mind."

Hermione responded, "Well then… you can ask your mum to convince her again. I'm sure she'd love to meet me." Just as Neville finished his brother's thought, "But she said never again."

She frowned, finally at a loss for a solution. "Oh…"

"We're really sorry, we'll try asking…"

"But she's going to say no…"

Trying to lighten the mood, Harry suggested, "Maybe we can go to your house one day…"

"Gran would never allow it…"

"We'll ask."

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**A.N.:** Well there you have it... my longest chapter yet. I considered splitting it up so that it'd last longer but decided against it. It flows better this way. I hope you all enjoyed. Please review (preferably signed so that I can respond). 

Thank you to everyone who has already review, especially those that keep it up every chapter. I'd also like to thank my beta, Arnel, for all her help.


	25. Chapter 25

_I'd like to dedicate this chapter to LegalAlien1 who's review to Chapter 23 inspired one of the scenes_

**Warning: **This chapter contains mentions to corporal punishment which may be offensive to some individuals.

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The boys went home that afternoon and pleaded with Lily. She responded by saying that she was happy they had made such a good friend; however, she wasn't the one who needed convincing they be allowed to spend time with her after school. The discussion ended with her promising to bring the subject up with Augusta. 

And she did. She fire-called Neville's grandmother after dinner and invited her over to discuss the matter. Although Lily had wanted to spare them hearing her refusal first-hand, the boys insisted on remaining to hear the response.

Unfortunately, Augusta didn't even wait to hear the entirety of the proposal before putting forward her refusal, "I thought I had made my position on the matter unmistakably clear. The boys are not to…"

Surprisingly, it was Neville that interrupted, "Shut up! Shut up! You ruin everything! Why won't you just let me be happy?"

Augusta was shocked into silence by his outburst, but outrage quickly became the dominant expression on her face. She did not yell, but her tone when she addressed him made her anger perfectly clear. "Neville Argus Longbottom! You will _not_ speak to me that way. I will _not_ tolerate such disrespect. You are not too old for me to take you over my knee. Come _here_." When he failed to approach she repeated herself, "Come here, _now._ If I have to come get you…"

This time he shuffled towards her. He said nothing more as each of ten blows fell squarely on his rear but the look on his tear-streaked face said it all.

As soon as she released her hold on him he jumped hurriedly away. Glaring at her a final time, he yelled, "I HATE YOU!" then turned and stomped his way up to his room. Harry followed close behind, though less noisily.

After they had left, an awkward silence remained. Lily, wisely, let the subject drop for the moment – now was not the time to rehash her opinion of Augusta's methods of disciplining her grandson – and they discussed other things. However, just as the older witch was leaving she added, "Why don't you surprise the boys tomorrow, pick them up from school. You haven't spent any quality time together in ages. Neville might even forgive you for tonight…"

The next day found the boys struggling to explain to their friend that they'd been unable to convince Neville's Gran to let her visit. To their surprise, she did not look as disappointed as they expected she'd be.

"You're not upset?" asked Neville.

"Yes, of course I am. But there's no use crying over spilt milk. I've decided that if I can't come over to your house to ask your mum my questions, the next best option is to ambush her when she comes to pick up you up today. Which reminds me, I've been wondering…" Harry and Neville exchanged a look of dread; those three words were never a good start to a sentence. "Why does your mum come pick you up every day? Couldn't you take the bus with everyone else?"

The boys exchanged a look, trying to decide how best to answer that question. Finally Neville answered, "Because Gran is panoid."

A look of puzzlement crossed the young witch's face, "Panoid?" It wasn't often she came across a word she didn't know.

"Yeah, she's afraid we're going to be kidnapped," elaborated Harry.

"Oh, you mean paranoid?"

"Something like that... That's what James said when Gran bought Lily the car…"

_"Lily, dear, why is there a car in the drive?"_

_"Augusta bought it for us."_

_James snorted. "Augusta bought a car? At a Muggle dealership?"_

_"Actually, she just paid for it. I chose it. Do you like it?"_

_Ignoring the question, James latched on to the first part of her response. "You went with her?" At her cautious nod, his expression darkened. "And you didn't feel inclined to discuss it with me first, because...?"_

_"I didn't know myself till this morning. It all happened rather suddenly." Noting that he'd calmed down enough to listen to her explanation, she continued, "Augusta came over this morning to discuss the logistics of the boys' enrollment at school. There were still a few wrinkles to iron out of the cover story. The subject of transportation came up. I mentioned that the school bus seemed the logical choice since it's too far to walk. She didn't like the idea and wanted me to drop them off and pick them up in person every day… That's when she decided we needed a car. Practically dragged me out of the house to go buy one – the boys were still in their pajamas! It was all I could do to insist they be given time to dress, there was certainly no time to call you…"_

_By the time she finished her story, James' anger had completely faded. Now he was just annoyed – at Augusta, not his wife. "And did she happen to mention why they couldn't take the school bus?"_

_Lily smiled. "Apparently, they're 'liable to be kidnapped' and she doesn't want to take any chances."_

_"Let me get this straight. Augusta thinks that Death Eaters – who incidentally know next to nothing about Muggles, aside from how best to torture and kill them – are going to kidnap the boys from a _Muggle_ bus on their way to a _Muggle_ school in an almost entirely _Muggle_ village? So, she spent over a thousand Galleons on a brand new Muggle car so that you can drive them to school?"_

_"That sums it up nicely, yes."_

_"Then, it's official, that woman is _paranoid_."_

Surprisingly, Augusta actually did show up to pick up Harry and Neville in Lily's stead. Perhaps she honestly didn't catch on that Lily was scheming. It seems more likely though that she was genuinely afraid she wouldn't be forgiven and sensed the challenge in Lily's words. Or perhaps she just wanted to prove she'd been sorted into Gryffindor for a reason. Regardless of her reasons, the fact remained that she went. What she encountered when she got there was not what she'd expected…

Hermione, who'd been waiting with them to meet Lily, excitedly introduced herself by saying, "Are you really Neville's Gran? He talks about you all the time… Can I ask you a question? I was going to ask Harry's mum but Harry says he's not allowed to invite me over because you don't want anyone to know where Neville lives – even though I'm Muggleborn and I don't know any other wizards and I wouldn't tell anyone – because of someone named You-Know-Who…Was his name really You-Know-Who, because that must have been really confusing growing up…? So can I ask you instead because it's a really important question…almost as important as where babies come from and I really want…"

Now, Augusta was unaccustomed to inquisitive children asking _her _questions, especially one Hermione Granger. She blanched at hearing the question compared to the dreaded "Where do babies come from?" and reacted by shutting her up in the only way she knew would work. What did she do? She bent down at whispered in her ear, "Neville lives at number 5 Cherry Road with the Potters. Why don't you ask Lily like you planned?"

And so Hermione Granger became Neville's second friend to know where he lived… She actually squealed at this revelation and was so excited that she almost asked if she could come over right away, forgetting for a moment that she really should ask her parents first and that if she didn't hurry she'd miss her bus home.

Unfortunately, Hermione didn't get to meet the Potters till the next day. She met Lily first. The first thing she did, after introducing herself, was ask the oh-so-important question that she'd already asked the boys eleven times.

But, Lily didn't know either and ended up giving her a non-committal response, "Magic works in mysterious ways, dear. My own sister hasn't an ounce of magic in her. In fact she hates magic so much that we haven't spoken to each other in years. The only reason I know she's still alive is that she still sends back every Christmas and birthday card I send her."

So Hermione drew her own conclusions that deep down inside, all Muggles didn't like magic or wouldn't want to be magic and that's why they weren't witches or wizards. Then she let the matter drop, and instead asked the other question that had been nagging her since she'd first laid eyes on Lily, "Mrs. Potter, are you having a baby? Your belly's very big, even bigger than Mother's was before she got sick and my baby sister died."

Lily, just smiled, and replied, "Yes, dear, any day now," before ushering her off to play with the boys.

Hermione met James when he came home from work that evening, and he walked her home before dinner. But as her visits became more frequent – as in daily – and the Potter household became more chaotic with the birth of Heather Lily Potter a week later, on September 24th, her parents insisted on coming to pick her up themselves.

Before they arrived, Lily pulled her aside and reminded her of the Charms protecting the house. "I'm sure the boys told you about the Secret before you came here… Remember, if your parents ask, this is Harry's house. Neville visited too but he's already left. He's not here. Understand?" At the young girl's solemn nod she continued, "There are also spells on the house to prevent Muggles, like your parents, from noticing the magical objects lying about. Don't try to correct them, okay?" Another nod. "Good, now run along and play with the boys till your parents get here."

By the time Hermione began staying over for dinner some nights, her parents insisted on reciprocating. It took surprisingly little pleading, on the part of the boys, to get Augusta to allow the boys to spend some afternoons with the Grangers.

The friendship grew. The three still let Colin join in on their games, and sometimes they even let two-year-old Dennis tag-along. But, it wasn't quite the same. He couldn't join them at school or at Hermione's house. The three came to be such good friends that Hermione often turned down offers to skip rope with her female classmates in favour of playing with the duo. That's not to say she didn't play with the girls sometimes, that wouldn't have been very nice…

**

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A.N. **Well there you have it. For those of you that didn't pick up the very few and very vague and scattered clues I dropped in the last few chapters, Heather was conceived in chapter 21. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. 

Many thanks to my pre-beta Mistri Tonks' Admirer, and my beta Arnel.


	26. Chapter 26

Usually, when the boys went over to Hermione's house they played outside in the yard. They'd been in the house certainly, but she'd never had occasion to invite them up to her room. But November 3rd, was rainy day and they couldn't very well stay out in the rain, so Hermione invited them up to her room for the first time.

There wasn't a single toy in sight; not simply because Hermione was a very neat little girl –which she was –and had put them all away, but because there was no toy chest in the room. The only furniture, aside from her bed and chest of drawers, was a shelf filled with books, and the occasional board game, lining one wall, and a desk equipped with reading lamp, by the window.

Curious, Harry picked a book off the shelf. Surprised at the text-filled page, he replaced it and picked up another. When the second, and third where equally devoid of pictures, he asked, "Don't you have any books with pictures in them?"

"Sure," She plucked a large volume off the bottom shelf, "Here, the encyclopaedia has plenty of interesting photographs. There's even one of…"

"No, no, storybooks, where all the storybooks?"

"You mean the picture books? Those are all in the nursery. But we can't go in there because it's locked up tight. Mother and Father didn't want to be reminded of the fact that my baby sister never got to use it on account of dying before she was even born. But, they were mostly childish stuff anyway… Mother and I are reading '_Jane Eyre_'1 now, which I am quite enjoying."

Neville sighed, "I suppose the toys are all locked away too…"

"Of course. Well, except for the Rubik's Cube… We can play a board game though. I have plenty: Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, Scotland Yard, Cluedo, Scrabble … I particularly enjoy Scrabble even though I still lose most of the time, since I can't spell many words yet. But, I've been getting better ever since I started reading the dictionary. It would be interesting to play against someone my own age… Do you think we could?"

Harry and Neville exchanged twin looks of alarm. Finally, Neville answered for them both, "I don't think that would work. Harry and I don't know how to write any words –except for our own names. Where'd you learn to write anyway? We won't learn at school 'til next year…"

"Father taught me some, the rest I've picked up from reading."

"You can read too?" blurted Harry.

Hermione nodded shyly, realizing –perhaps for the first time –that her peers might not share many of the skills she took for granted. "Maybe we can play Scotland Yard instead; you don't have to be able to read for that one." She moved to pick the game off the shelf.

Harry took one glance at it and decided it did not sound fun, "I have a better idea. Let's play Hide and Seek."

Neville nodded his agreement. "Maybe we can play the board game later, if it keeps raining," he added diplomatically. Harry glared at him for the suggestion but, luckily, Hermione didn't notice.

"Okay, but my father's study and my parents' bedroom –the two rooms at the end of the hall –are off limits. Mother and Father would not approve of me bringing friends in there. We shouldn't go into Mother's study downstairs either –that's where she is now –but it'll probably be locked so that's not really a problem… Base is my bed." She sat down on it, "I'll count first." That said, she closed her eyes and started counting backwards from one hundred, "One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven…"

The boys, not knowing how far ninety-seven was from zero, needed no further encouragement to take off in search of a hiding place.

Harry took off down the stairs, while Neville, heading the other way, tried the door to the room next to Hermione's. It was locked, which is why Hermione hadn't thought to include the nursery in her list of forbidden rooms. Neville was about to move on to the next door –a closet as it so happens –when it occurred to him that hiding behind a supposedly locked door would be the best place to hide. It was a Muggle lock, unlike the locking charms Lily used at home; he could probably get it to open if he wished hard enough.

Hermione's voice drifted down the hall, "Seventy-one, seventy, sixty-nine…" No time like the present. He focused hard on getting the door open –doing magic on purpose was hard –and grinned when his efforts were rewarded with a soft click. He scrambled into the room, pulling the door closed behind him, and grinned again; Hermione would never find him in here…

And she didn't. Having been discovered under the sofa half an hour ago, Harry was getting tired of waiting for Hermione to find Neville and joined the search. It was he who finally threw open the door in the nursery to find Neville calmly rummaging through Hermione's box of Lego bricks, which he had retrieved from one of the shelves of the nursery.

When they entered, he looked up, "You really have a lot of cool toys, Hermione. It's stupid that they have to be locked up."

Taking in the contents of the room, Harry added, "I think you should hide some toys under your bed. Bet your Mum wouldn't even notice. She's in that office of hers every time we come over. And then you could play something fun once in a while."

Hermione had a strange look on her face. She hadn't said a word since she'd stepped into the room. Instead, she stared blankly at the toys she'd given up two and a half years ago, when her parents a sealed them in along with the memories they wanted hide from. She'd tried to tell herself that they were childish things and that she didn't need them but as she caught sight of Annie, the redheaded doll that had been her near-constant companion for the first three years of her life, she burst into tears.

She ran over to pluck it off the shelf and hug it tightly. It seemed smaller than she remembered, but it was she that had grown and not the doll that had shrunk. She'd grown, yes, but not so much as to give up on dolls. The tears flowed freely; she was tired of pretending to be grown up.

It was probably no more than a few minutes later –though time had lost meaning to her –that Harry and Neville joined the hug. "It's okay, Hermione. Lily says crying is good for you." They didn't break apart till the sound of Mrs. Granger calling up the stairs that it was dinnertime reached their ears.

In a flurry of activity they cleaned up the toys that Neville had taken out and scampered off to Hermione's room to hide the doll under her pillow –Hermione didn't want to hide it under the bed –before finally rushing down the stairs to dinner, as though nothing had changed. When admonished for the delay, Hermione replied in her usual prim voice, "Sorry, Mother. I was reading to the boys and lost track of time. We just wanted to finish the chapter." No one contradicted her.

It wasn't till a week later that the truth of what they'd really been doing came out. It turned out that under her pillow was really not the best place for Hermione to hide her doll. When her mother lifted the pillow to retrieve Hermione's nightdress for washing, she discovered the doll there.

When asked where she'd gotten it, Hermione was forced to admit that she'd been in the nursery. When asked how she'd gotten in, Hermione just shrugged her shoulders, "Neville must have picked the lock. We were playing hide and seek…" This revelation sparked a phone call to Lily about the bad influence the boys were being on her little angel. She would have called Augusta too had she known the number…

Thankfully, Mr. and Mrs. Granger hated seeing their daughter miserable, and being forbidden to visit with or invite the boys over made her miserable, so the prohibition of contact with the two wizards didn't last long. In the end, they even let her place all her toys in her own room before locking the nursery up again –with a dead bolt this time. She was their only daughter –and the apple of their eye –after all…

1 'Jane Eyre' does not belong to me. It was first published in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte under the pseudonym Currer Bell. It has since been republished many times since.

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**A.N.** I admit I may have taken some liberties concerning Hermione's home life but I don't think they're too much of a stretch. After all, JKR tells us that she planned to give Hermione a younger sister old enough to appear during one of the first 5 books (She stated "it feels like it might be too late now" in an interview after OotP was published) but never got around to it. Three years seemed like a reasonable age gap for me. 

A special thanks goes out to Mistri Tonks' Admirer whose comments about a quote from last chapter prompted me to type up what I'd jotted down. He also proved instrumental to my brainstorming of this chapter. Thanks, as well, to all my reviewers and to my beta, Arnel, who was a tremendous aid ironing out the wrinkles in this chapter.


	27. Chapter 27

Any hard feelings between the Grangers and the Potters didn't last long. Considering how often Hermione was over, it was hard for her parents to hold a grudge. By mid-November, the argument was all but forgotten.

In fact, when James came home one autumn evening he was shocked into silence by his wife jumping into his arms, "You'll never guess what happened today! Marcia called. She and Robert just won four tickets to see a performance of Swan Lake on Saturday. She invited us as a thank you for all the times we've had Hermione over."

"We're going to watch swans swim in a lake?"

"No, of course not, it's a ballet, about a princess who's been turned into a swan."

James groaned, "Oh, are you sure it's a thank you rather than her subtle way of getting back at us for the stunt Neville pulled the last time the boys were over? Because, it sounds torturously lame…"

He didn't see the slap coming.

"While you're out of the house all day, I've been at home with a baby that never sleeps and two hooligans that can't sit still for ten minutes at a time. We're going to the ballet because I need a break, and Swan Lake was my favourite ballet as a child. Remus can watch the children"

After her reaction to his comments about the ballet it was with reluctance that he pointed out, "Lily dear, you do realize that Friday is the full moon… Remus won't be in any condition to baby-sit on Saturday."

It was a sure sign of how excited she was –or how badly she needed a break –that she merely sighed and responded, "Then we'll have to ask the mangy mutt to watch to kids."

James tried not to let his shock at the suggestion show, the boys had never been left alone with Sirius before, anytime Lily had any say in the matter. She'd even been reluctant to let him hold Harry when he'd been Heather's age.

Her newfound tolerance for Sirius had its limits though. When, by some stroke of misfortune, the Granger's baby-sitter cancelled at the last minute on Saturday, it was with great reluctance that Lily suggested exposing her to Sirius.

He certainly didn't make much of an effort to prove her reluctance unfounded. In fact, despite Lily's vehement objections, he waited by the door in dog form and greeted Hermione with a big slobbery lick when she came in the door. His actions left Lily fuming and fumbling for an explanation of the dog's presence. With barely veiled anger –it wouldn't do to appear angry at the dog –she said, "Padfoot, go get Sirius. The Grangers want to meet the baby_sitter._"

That he somehow managed to appear presentable when he sauntered back into the room, human –in form anyway –did not go very far to placating Lily. But, Sirius was nothing if not a charmer and the Grangers, at least, were reassured. Their hurry to get going prevented Lily from having a final private word with him about being on his best behaviour. A glare his way and a comment seemingly directed at the Harry and Neville, "We're off. I expect you boys to be on best behaviour," had to suffice.

Dense though he might pretend to be, her message wasn't lost on Sirius. He turned to the three children gathered before him, "Well you heard the woman, go have fun –but don't wake the baby, please."

Moments later a shaggy black dog was chasing them up the stairs to the room the boys shared. He probably would have kept chasing them but Heather, hearing the commotion decided it was time to wake up.

So Hermione and the boys were left to their own devices once more. "So…" began Harry, "what should we play?"

It was Hermione that answered first, "Let's play House." The boys just groaned. "Come on, please. I brought Annie and everything. I'll be the Mummy. Neville, you can be the Daddy. And Harry, you can be the unemployed, bachelor Uncle."

"Do I have to?" whined Harry. He didn't know what an unemployed bachelor was but it didn't sound fun. "How about we play Aurors and dark wizards? I can be the evil dark wizard and kidnap you and the baby. And Neville can be the Auror that comes to the rescue."

Hermione shook her head, "No! We always play what you want. I'm tired of being kidnapped… Tonight we play House, and that's final!"

"Fine! But I'm not being an unployed batlor!"

"_Unemployed bachelor_, honestly! You really have to work on your vocabulary… What would you rather be then? The dog?"

"I can be the Dark Lord Baldiewort who wants to kill the baby."

"No!"

"Fine! I'll be Padfoot then..."

So they played House. Mostly, it comprised of Hermione ordering the boys around and them rolling their eyes and complying, though Harry had some definite ideas of what Padfoot's role in the game should be and Neville firmly refused to take part in any baby care activities.

Finally, about an hour later, the sound of a real baby shrieking interrupted their game. They'd heard Heather cry plenty often since she'd joined the household and while they weren't happy with it –especially when she woke the house asking to be fed –Lily had explained why babies cried and they'd learnt to ignore it. Besides, the grown-ups usually calmed her down in no time.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be calming down this time. Her screams were getting louder and harder to ignore. More to the point, the boys were aching for an excuse to abandon the imposed game. So, deciding that Sirius obviously didn't know how to make her quiet they trekked downstairs to find out what the problem was.

What they found when they reached the kitchen would probably have been funny if not for the screaming. Sirius stood by the kitchen sink, holding the screeching baby at arm's length. Both were thoroughly drenched and covered in suds –the result of a cleaning spell gone awry. A clearly soiled diaper lay nearby and the contents of Lily's diaper bag were spread out in disarray on the table.

Taking in the scene, Hermione brought her hands to her hips and, in a tone that would have done her mother proud, exclaimed, "What is going on down here?" though she'd already a fairly good idea of what his answer would be.

Not expecting such a tone from one of his charges, Sirius' exasperated response was harsher than strictly necessary, "What does it look like I'm doing? Trying to change the little brat's diaper. Only she won't stop yelling."

Hermione continued to direct him a look that clearly asked, "_what are you, an idiot?_" before finally asking, "Haven't you ever changed a diaper before?"

Sirius, feeling rather inadequate at the moment, replied testily, "No, have you?"

She just smiled at him, that superior grin still on her face, "No of course not, I'm only 6. But I've seen it done. You're doing it all wrong. How do you expect her to feel safe if you hold her like that? And why is she all wet?"

She didn't wait for an answer, instead she turned to the boys and said, "One of you go get a towel." She then turned to the table and plucked the changing pad from the disorderly pile Sirius had made. She laid it flat on the table and turned to Sirius, "Put her down here, _gently_. " As he did so, she grabbed a toy out the pile, as well, and handed it to the crying baby, tickling her belly as she did so, "Here you, go. There, there, no need to cry. We'll have you all dried and clean in no time."

By the time she quieted Heather down, the boys had returned with the towel. Hermione handed it to Sirius, "Dry her off, gently." Once he had done that she continued, "Okay, now according to 'You and Your Baby: A Step-by-step Guide to Good Parenting and Brighter Babies' by J. W. Staines and Margery J. Mitchell, you have to start by…" She droned on for quite a while longer, but eventually Sirius did manage to get Heather changed and back to bed.

As he shooed the trio out once more –a little more quietly this time –he said a silent prayer that Lily would never hear of the incident… That she never let him baby-sit again for a _very _long time is evidence enough that his prayers were in vain...

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**A.N.** Here you go folks… I apologize tremendously for the delay. It's inexcusable. Hopefully this chapter makes up for things. Many thanks to my beta, Arnel, who suggested the whole diaper change fiasco. Thanks also to Mistri, Tonks' Admirer who helped me work out the details and edited this chapter for you all. 

'You and Your Baby: A Step-by-step Guide to Good Parenting and Brighter Babies' by J. W. Staines and Margery J. Mitchell is a real book. I haven't read it myself so I can't vouch for what it actually contains but it was published August 2nd, 1979 about a month before Hermione was born so it's perfectly reasonable that her parents might have had it lying around the house.

Okay, that's enough of my rambling. Now it's time for my favourite part: your reviews.


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